HATTIESBURG, Miss. – After a tough road loss in Ames, Southern Miss needed to get back home, get back to work and get back in the win column.

On Wednesday night at Reed Green Coliseum, in front of a rowdy crowd, the Golden Eagles accomplished all of those things, as they overcame a 15-point second-half deficit to win 84-80 over Jackson State in overtime.

The win moves Southern Miss to 2-1 on the season. The loss drops Jackson State to 1-3 on the year.

Despite some anxious moments and facing plenty of adversity, Jay Ladner’s group was ultimately able to respond to its first loss of the season with a bounce-back win.

Here are the biggest storylines from Southern Miss’ win over Jackson State.

The Final Moments of Regulation

With 13 seconds remaining in regulation, JSU led by three and had a chance to ice the game at the free-throw line, but standout guard Mike Williams missed the first of a one-and-one, giving the Golden Eagles one final opportunity.

Southern Miss lead guard Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt rushed up the court and got fouled, sinking one free throw to cut the Golden Eagles' deficit to 69-67. JSU then turned the ball over with 4.2 seconds left, giving Southern Miss one last chance to tie or take the lead. Golden Eagles big man Cam Wallace was fouled in the paint with 1.4 seconds left and calmly sank both free throws to send the game to overtime.

Gaines-Wyatt and Wallace Carry the Load in Overtime

In overtime, Gaines-Wyatt and Wallace continued what they started in the final minutes of regulation, accounting for 14 of the Golden Eagles' 15 points in the extra period.

After being tied at 78-78 with 57 seconds remaining, Gaines-Wyatt scored the next three points from the free-throw line, giving the Golden Eagles an 81-78 lead with 24 seconds left. JSU responded with a layup from Williams, but Gaines-Wyatt yet again hit two more freebies to give Southern Miss an 83-80 lead with eight seconds remaining.

Then, as JSU tried to get the ball up the court for a chance to tie the game, Isaac Taveras came up with his third steal of the night and hit a free throw afterward to seal the 84-80 win. Taveras finished with 10 points (4-12 FG), nine rebounds, one assist, one block and three steals in 26 minutes.

Gaines-Wyatt led the team with a season-high 28 points (7-12 FG, 3-6 3P), three rebounds, four assists and one steal in 37 minutes. He also shot 11-of-12 free throws.

"I just want to thank my teammates a lot," Gaines-Wyatt said. "They had a lot of trust in me out there today. They wanted to get me the ball, and they know that I’m not just looking for me to score. I’m looking for them to score also. So I just saw a lot of things open up. If anybody stepped up, it was a kick, but nobody stepped up today, so it was a lot of drives [for me], a lot of fouls, and I appreciate my teammates for that.”

Wallace also had his best game of the early season, finishing with 21 points (8-16 FG, 5-7 FT) and six rebounds in 30 minutes. The Southern Miss coaching staff challenged the veteran to bounce back and play more to his abilities after his first two games of the season, and he did just that.

“Really just getting myself back together and getting back on the right path from the last games. But my teammates never stopped trusting me. My coaches never stopped trusting me," Wallace said.

"It’s probably one of the best programs I’ve been at. They’re not just giving you anything. They want you to go earn it, want you to go take it, and we talked about that, and I just took that to the chin, and I couldn’t let my teammates down anymore from the previous performances I’ve had. So I had to step up, had to give everything I got. They believe in me, I believe in them, and we’re just going to continue to go from there.”

As this season progresses, the leadership and experience from two seasoned veteran players like Wallace and Gaines-Wyatt will go a long way toward Southern Miss becoming the team it wants to be by March.

Too Many Turnovers, Missed Free Throws

Although the Golden Eagles were happy to escape with a comeback win on Wednesday, it's still worth noting the areas that put them in a 15-point hole to begin with. One of those areas was turnovers, as Southern Miss had 18 that led to 32 Jackson State points. The other one was free-throw shooting ... at least for the first 35 minutes of the game.

For the game, Southern Miss shot 26-42 from the charity stripe, leaving 16 points on the table in what ended up being just a four-point win.

With that being said, though, Gaines-Wyatt, Wallace and Taveras came through with some massive free throws when it counted the most at the end of regulation and in overtime. Say what you will about how Southern Miss got into the situation it was in, but it showed enough grit and resilience to dig out of it and complete the comeback.

That's the kind of stuff that can galvanize a team as a season progresses. This team is still full of several new guys learning how to play with each other, but tonight gave us a glimpse of what their resolve looks like when things get tough.

Next Up: Familiar Foe in San Marcos

Southern Miss won’t have long to enjoy getting back in the win column. The Golden Eagles head to San Marcos, Texas, on Friday to take on Texas State, a familiar face from the Sun Belt that now calls the Pac-12 home.

Some old rivalries hit a little differently once the conference patch on the jersey changes, and this is one of them. For the Bobcats, it’ll be a chance to show their new league they belong. For Southern Miss, it’s the second road test against a power-conference opponent in a week. It’s also a fair way to find out whether the fixes we saw Wednesday night [turnovers, paint defense, rebounding] carry over away from Reed Green.

If Taveras keeps playing like the Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year and the supporting cast keeps growing up around him, Southern Miss has a very, very good chance to make some noise in Texas to start the weekend.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT on the Pac-12 YouTube channel. Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more coverage of Golden Eagles basketball all season long.