Jonathan Mills led five players in double figures as Southern Mississippi used balanced scoring and a big first half to beat East Carolina 72-60 Wednesday night in a Conference USA game.
Mills led the Golden Eagles (18-3, 5-1) with 13 points. LaShay Page scored 12, Neil Watson 11, and Darnell Dodson and Torye Pelham 10 apiece.
Miguel Paul scored 21 points for East Carolina, and Darrius Morrow and Eric Straughn scored 14 points each. But no other Pirate scored more than five points as East Carolina (9-10, 0-6) remained winless in conference play.
The Pirates actually led 15-9 with 9:55 left in the first half, but Southern Miss went on a 29-8 run to lead 38-23 at halftime. The Golden Eagles scored the last eight points of the half, including five by Pelham, who also fed Cedrick Jenkins for a 3-pointer that started the 8-0 run.
