Eagles soar past East Carolina

One word can be used to describe the Southern Miss men's basketball team since the season began: dominant. The Golden Eagles have won four out of their last five conference games, quickly becoming a major contender for the C-USA regular season title with one month of basketball left to play.

That dominant trend continued Wednesday night at Minges Coliseum, as Southern Miss (18-3, 5-1) put together one of its most complete performances to date in a 70-62 win over East Carolina (9-10, 0-6) in Greenville, N.C.

Paced by shifty point guard Neil Watson, the Eagles jumped out to a 38-23 halftime lead and never looked back in a game that saw five USM players in double figures.

Down by six early in the contest, Southern Miss used a 28-9 run at the end of the first half to take a commanding 15-point lead into the break. Shooting 50% from behind the arc and 17-23 from the charity stripe, USM pounded the Pirates into submission in the second half to take home the win.

Big man Jonathan Mills led the team with 13 points, but it was USM's balanced offensive output that pushed the Golden Eagles over ECU. LaShay Page scored 12 points, Neil Watson 11 points and Darnell Dodson and Torye Pelham 10 points for Southern Miss.

Next up for the Golden Eagles is a Saturday night road clash with UCF (15-5, 5-2) in what will be a match-up of two perennial NCAA Tournament teams in Orlando. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT.