The Mayor’s Cup went to Southern Miss on Tuesday night as the Golden Eagle men’s basketball team handled crosstown foe William Carey, 82-59.
EJ Paymon made his first collegiate start for Southern Miss (2-3) and was all over the box score to start the game. The redshirt freshman transfer from Mississippi State helped kickstart an 8-0 run at the beginning of the game with a pair of buckets and an alley-oop assist to Isaac Taveras.
The Golden Eagles used the run and others to quickly jump out to a double-digit lead and never look back as William Carey (6-0), a member of the NAIA, didn’t have enough manpower to make a full climb back. Southern Miss went into the half with a 38-28 lead.
It only took two minutes in the second half for the Golden Eagles to up their lead to 15. Southern Miss kept scoring before capping off the game with a 6-0 run to make for a 23-point win inside Reed Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg.
Taveras led Southern Miss with 13 points and eight rebounds. Tegra Izay had 10 points and eight rebounds, while Curt Lewis pitched in 11 points and Paymon nine.
For William Carey, Jamar Jenkins led the team in scoring with 11 points. Javeon Gordon had nine points, and Randarius Hughes had a game-high 10 rebounds.
Next up for Southern Miss, which has won seven straight Mayor’s Cups, is a Saturday night game against North Florida in the Pensacola Invitational. William Carey will play at Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday night.