Southern Miss beats Rice 86-75 behind Magee's 22

Jan 19, 2018, 04:35 am

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Dominic Magee scored 22 points, Cortez Edwards added 13 points with a career-high 10 assists and six steals, and Southern Miss beat Rice 86-75 on Thursday night to end a two-game skid and win its eighth straight at home.

LaDavius Draine scored 16 points off the bench and Tyree Griffin scored 14 points with six assists for the Golden Eagles (10-10, 3-4 Conference USA), who made 11 3-pointers and 15 of 16 free throws (93.8 percent).

Griffin hit two 3s in a 10-2 run for a 62-48 Southern Miss lead, but Ako Adams scored eight points amid a 17-4 run and the Owls closed to 80-75 on his free throw with 1:03 to play. Draine hit a jumper and Magee scored four straight in the final 24 seconds to seal it.

Rice led 26-25 on Najja Hunter's 3, but Draine hit a jumper and a go-ahead 3 to spark a 16-5 run and the Golden Eagles led 43-36 at halftime.

Adams scored 18 points with three 3s and five assists, Malik Osborne added 17 points, and Austin Meyer had 10 for the Owls (4-15, 1-5), who have lost nine of their last 10 games.