Hattiesburg, MS (Sports Network) – Gary Flowers’ double-double of 27 points and 10 rebounds led the way for Southern Mississippi, as the Golden Eagles defeated the Houston Cougars, 85-73 in Conference USA action at the Reed Green Coliseum.
Maurice Bolden added 23 points for Southern Miss (12-2, 1-0 C-USA), while R. L. Horton posted 18 points, to go along with six assists.
Adam Brown registered 20 points for Houston (8-6, 0-1), while Maurice McNeil contributed 12 points. Zamal Nixon tallied 10 points and dished out eight assists in the loss.
Houston shot 61.5 percent in the first half and used that solid shooting effort to take a 38-36 lead into the intermission.
However, the Golden Eagles returned the favor in the second stanza, as they shot a sizzling 64.0 percent from the floor, en route to the win.
South Mississippi’s bench scored 32 points in the contest, while Houston’s reserves posted just 15 points.