Southern Miss downs East Carolina 88-69 in C-USA

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — Neil Watson scored 26 points and didn’t miss all night as Southern Mississippi routed East Carolina 88-69 Saturday.

The Golden Eagles (22-7, 11-3 Conference USA) led 36-31 at halftime, then outscored the Pirates (16-11, 7-7) 52-38 after the break.

Watson’s 26 points came on seven 3-pointers without a miss and 5 for 5 at the stripe.

Jonathan Mills recorded a 15-point, 17-rebound double-double for Southern Miss. Six of those rebounds came on the offensive glass. Dwayne Davis added 17 points and Daveon Boardingham 12.

Maurice Kemp led East Carolina with 23 points of 7 of 10 shooting from the field, and 9 of 10 at the stripe. Akeem Richardson scored 15 points off the bench and Miguel Paul chipped in 13.

Southern Miss was 13 of 20 on treys, 29 of 55 (52.7 percent) from the field. The Pirates hit 8 of 22 treys, 23 of 53 overall (43.4 percent).