The fifth-seeded Southern Miss Golden Eagles had an easy go of it in the first round of the Conference USA tournament, as they took a big lead early and were never threatened in a 63-47 pasting of Tulane.
Gary Flowers led all scorers with 18 points, and added 11 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season. LaShay Page scored 12 points off the bench for Southern Miss, just the seventh time he has cracked double digits this year, but the second straight game he has done so. Kris Richard paced Tulane with 16 points in a losing effort.
USM improves to 22-9 on the season, and has a second-round date with the 4-seed Memphis Tigers. The Golden Eagles lost both of their regular season match-ups with Memphis, but by a combined total of just seven points.
Tulane finishes the season with a 13-17 overall record, and a league-worst 3-13 mark in conference play.