Southern Miss tops FIU 78-66, back to 1st in C-USA

Feb 27, 2014, 10:09 pm

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Matt Bingaya had 20 points, six rebounds and four steals to lead Southern Miss to a 78-66 victory over Florida International on Thursday night.

After the opening minutes, Southern Miss (24-5, 11-3) led the entire game. The win moved The Golden Eagles back into a first-place tie in Conference USA and improved their record at home to 14-0.

Southern Miss used a 15-4 run to finish the first half with a 35-23 advantage and extended to their largest lead at 47-26 early in the second.

Daveon Boardingham had 14 points and eight rebounds. Jerrold Brooks had 11 points and Jeremiah Eason added 10.

Southern Miss allowed FIU (13-16, 5-9) to match its 43 second-half points, but it was good enough to overcome a standout effort from Tymell Murphy.

Murphy had 13 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, four steals and three blocks for the Golden Panthers.