PENSACOLA, Fla. – Top-seeded Troy and 10th-seeded Georgia Southern punched tickets to the championship game at the 2026 Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Air Force Reserve on Sunday evening at the Pensacola Bay Center.
Troy held off a late surge by eighth-seeded Southern Miss for a 78-70 win and a trip to the championship game to defend their title, before Georgia Southern outlasted second-seeded Marshall, 82-78, for their fifth win in as many days.
Monday night’s championship game will tip off at 6 p.m. (CT) and will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
Game 11: (1) Troy 78, (8) Southern Miss 70 (Box Score)
Troy senior forward Jerrell Bellamy scored 16 of his team-high 22 points in the first half and shot 9-for-14 overall with six blocks, as the Trojans overcome second-half scoring struggles to reach Monday’s title game for the second year in a row.
The first half began as a seesaw battle for the first nine minutes with 10 lead changes and four ties before Troy scored six-straight points down to the 8:04 mark to pull ahead, 25-18. The Trojans shot 54 percent from the floor while forcing Southern Miss into nine turnovers to take a 41-28 lead into halftime.
Troy widened the margin to as many as 19 points, 55-36, on another Bellamy basket with 15:34 remaining in the game. However, the Trojans endured a drought of 12-consecutive missed shots covering a span of 10-and-a-half minutes until Cooper Campbell sunk a 3-pointer on a second-chance opportunity with 5:03 left.
Southern Miss scored 19 points during Troy’s shooting drought, but the Trojans were able to limit the damage with 10 points on free throws during that window.
Trailing, 70-55, the Golden Eagles scored six-straight points in under two minutes to cut their deficit under double-digits with 1:35 remaining. They pulled within as few as four with 11 seconds to go, but the Trojans made their free throws and got stops to close out the eight-point win
Southern Miss junior guard Isaac Taveras led all players with 32 points on 12-for-16 shooting.
Game 10: (10) Georgia Southern 82, (2) Marshall 78 (Box Score)
Graduate guard Spudd Webb scored a game-high 31 points on 8-for-14 shooting while going 13-for-14 at the free throw line to go with five rebounds and three steals, as Georgia Southern advanced to its first Sun Belt championship game since its debut season in the conference in 2015.
Redshirt senior forward Andres Burney added a double-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks who owned a 43-35 rebounding advantage and outscored Marshall, 36-32, in the paint.
Leading 19-12 nearly midway through the first half, Georgia Southern scored six-straight points on back-to-back 3-pointers to establish its first double-digit lead of the night, 25-12, with 9:43 to go in the period.
Marshall found its rhythm offensively from that point however and trimmed its deficit to just two, 27-25, with 5:37 left, but the Eagles increased the margin back to as many as eight before getting a basket before the halftime horn for a 42-35 at the intermission.
The Thundering Herd got hot to start the second half by making five of their first eight shots, which included eight points by junior guard Caleb Hollenbeck, to cut the deficit to just one with 16:10 to go. After a timeout, the run continued with a trey by freshman guard Landen Joseph to give the Herd their first lead, 50-48, since the 18:46 mark of the first half.
Marshall and Georgia Southern exchanged blows in a tight battle down the stretch which featured seven ties and as many lead changes and neither side led by more than four points. The Eagles took back the lead for good on a pair of Webb free throws with 56 seconds to go and forced the Herd into multiple missed shots to seal the victory.
Junior guard Shamarrie Hugie shot 7-for-11 and led four Marshall scorers in double-figures with 19 points off the bench.
2026 Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship Presented By Air Force Reserve
Tuesday, March 3
Game 1 – (12) Louisiana def. (13) Georgia State, 84-75
Game 2 – (11) Old Dominion def. (14) ULM, 87-80
Wednesday, March 4
Game 3 – (9) James Madison def. (12) Louisiana, 87-72
Game 4 – (10) Georgia Southern def. (11) Old Dominion, 88-84
Thursday, March 5
Game 5 – (8) Southern Miss def. (9) James Madison, 86-80
Game 6 – (10) Georgia Southern def. (7) Arkansas State, 80-77
Friday, March 6
Game 7 – (8) Southern Miss def. (5) Texas State, 81-77
Game 8 – (10) Georgia Southern def. (6) South Alabama, 94-85
Saturday, March 7
Game 9 – (8) Southern Miss def. (4) App State, 86-73
Game 10 – (10) Georgia Southern def. (3) Coastal Carolina, 96-72
Sunday, March 8
Game 11 – (1) Troy def. (8) Southern Miss, 78-70
Game 12 – (10) Georgia Southern def. (2) Marshall, 82-78
Monday, March 9 (Championship)
Game 13 – (1) Troy vs. (10) Georgia Southern – 6 p.m. CT [ESPN2]