By By The Associated Press
HATTIESBURG, Miss. — R.L. Horton scored 20 points and Jeremy Wise added 17 points and 10 assists as Southern Mississippi held off East Carolina 69-59 on Tuesday night.
The Golden Eagles (14-11, 4-7 Conference USA), coming off a 72-47 loss to then-No. 8 Memphis on Saturday, ended a five-game skid with the win.
Southern Miss jumped out to an 11-0 lead while holding the Pirates (13-12, 5-7) scoreless for the first 5:39.
The Golden Eagles led 40-25 at the break, but East Carolina came back in the second half to close within three points at 53-50 with 8:28 left. Southern Miss answered with a 9-0 run, including five points and an assist from Wise.
Courtney Beasley added 13 points for the Golden Eagles and Craig Craft had 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Sam Hinnant and James Legan scored 12 points apiece for the Pirates. Jamar Abrams added 11 and Chad Wynn 10.
SOUTHERN MISS. 69, EAST CAROLINA 59
EAST CAROLINA (13-12)
Wynn 5-7 0-0 10, Legan 4-9 1-1 12, Hinnant 4-11 0-0 12, Young 2-8 5-5 9, Abrams 4-6 1-2 11, Morrow 2-4 1-2 5, Turner 0-2 0-0 0, Sherrod 0-2 0-0 0, Sargent 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-49 8-10 59.
SOUTHERN MISS. (14-11)
Beasley 6-12 0-0 13, Stephens 1-3 0-0 2, Wise 5-12 7-7 17, Horton 7-11 4-5 20, Craft 5-10 0-1 11, McCauley 1-2 2-2 4, Lino 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 26-52 13-15 69.
Halftime—Southern Miss. 40-25. 3-Point Goals—East Carolina 9-22 (Hinnant 4-8, Legan 3-7, Abrams 2-4, Turner 0-1, Young 0-2), Southern Miss. 4-9 (Horton 2-3, Beasley 1-1, Craft 1-3, Wise 0-1, McCauley 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—East Carolina 29 (Wynn 7), Southern Miss. 29 (Craft 12). Assists—East Carolina 13 (Young 7), Southern Miss. 17 (Wise 10). Total Fouls—East Carolina 18, Southern Miss. 14. A—3,664. —3,664.