Recap: Southern Miss vs. East Carolina

Hattiesburg, MS (Sports Network) - Neil Watson shot a perfect 7-of-7 from 3- point range while scoring 26 points to lead the Southern Miss Golden Eagles over the East Carolina Pirates, 88-69, in Conference-USA action at Reed Green Coliseum.

The Golden Eagles (22-7, 11-3 C-USA) earned their fourth win in the last five games. While all seven of Watson's shots from the field came from the beyond the arc, he also made all five of his attempts from the free-throw line. Jonathan Mills had a monster game, recording a double-double with 17 rebounds and 15 points. Dwayne Davis added 17 points and nine rebounds while Daveon Boardingham managed 12 points.

Maurice Kemp supplied 23 points and eight rebounds for the Pirates (16-11, 7-7), who saw a brief two-game win streak come to an end. Akeem Richmond hit four 3-pointers and scored 15 points while Miguel Paul added 13 points and eight assists.

Southern Miss went 5-of-9 from 3-point range in the first half and took a 36-31 lead into the break.

The Golden Eagles opened up the second half with a 10-2 run. They shot 65.4 percent from the floor and made good on an impressive 8-of-11 shots from long- range.

USM dominated the boards, earning a 42-23 rebounding edge, while also shooting lights out from 3-point range, hitting 13-of-20 shots.