Southern Miss. 45, UTEP 39

Feb 20, 2013, 11:45 pm

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Jerrold Brooks scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half as Southern Mississippi rallied to defeat UTEP 45-39 Wednesday night.

Each team posted a season low for points.

The Golden Eagles (21-6, 10-2 Conference USA) have won 10 league games for an unprecedented two consecutive years.

Southern Miss led 10-9 before UTEP closed out the first half on a 13-6 run. The Miners led 27-18 with 16:33 left, then went cold.

UTEP didn't make another field goal until Julian Washburn's jumper with 12:52 left gave the Miners a 29-24 lead. Their next field-goal drought lasted more than 9 minutes, as the Golden Eagles went on a 17-2 spree.

Southern Miss shot 33.3 percent (16 of 48), making 5 of 22 3-pointers, while the Miners shot 30 percent (15 of 50) and were only 4 of 26 from long range.

McKenzie Moore's 12 points led UTEP (14-11, 7-5).