GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- Daveon Boardingham scored 15 points to push Southern Miss ahead of East Carolina 60-46 on Saturday night.
East Carolina (11-9, 0-5 Conference USA) held a two-point lead midway through the second half, but a 16-1 run -- sparked by two Boardingham dunks and capped by another -- put the Golden Eagles up for good with 2:21 remaining.
Southern Miss (18-3, 5-1) outscored East Carolina by 21 in the second half, holding the Pirates to just 16 points after halftime.
The Golden Eagles shot 22 of 51 (43.1 percent) from the floor. They had 12 steals, with five of those made by Neil Watson (10 points).
The Pirates made 12 3-pointers, but only shot 35.3 percent from behind the arc after 34 attempts.
Akeem Richmond scored 18 points for East Carolina and finished with five assists. Caleb White added 13 points, all in the first half.
