By By The Associated Press
HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Gary Flowers, R.L. Horton and Torye Pelham chipped in 12 points each and Southern Mississippi defeated East Carolina 68-53 on Saturday.
Flowers and Pelham headlined a physical Golden Eagles front court, which outscored the Pirates 42-20 in the paint and won the rebounding battle 34-21. Southern Miss had 24 second-chance points while East Carolina finished with just four.
Buchi Awaji and Sai’Quon Stone chipped in 10 points apiece for the Golden Eagles (11-8, 1-4 Conference USA), who won their first regular-season conference game since Feb. 17 when they defeated East Carolina 69-59.
Southern Miss shot 48 percent (26 of 54) from the floor in the win, which snapped a two-game losing skid.
Jamar Abrams led East Carolina (6-13, 0-5) with 18 points. The Pirates extended their losing streak to five games, and increased their Conference USA losing streak to 11 games. East Carolina has not won a league game since Feb. 15.
The lead changed eight times in the first half, but the Golden Eagles shot 50 percent and finished the period with a 6-0 run to earn a 28-26 halftime lead.
East Carolina’s zone defense gave Southern Miss fits to start the second half, but a long 3-pointer by Awaji sparked a 10-2 run that gave the Golden Eagles a 12-point lead they never lost.
The Golden Eagles committed just three of their seven turnovers in the second half, and made 10 of their 13 free throw attempts after East Carolina started fouling out of desperation.