The Associated Press

 

HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Neil Watson scored 18 points, including a 3-pointer with 18.5 seconds left, as Southern Mississippi held off Marshall 67-63 Saturday night.

The Golden Eagles (17-3, 4-1 Conference USA), who led by as many as 16 points in the first half, saw the Thundering Herd hit three consecutive 3-pointers to pull within 64-63 with 46.5 seconds to play.

But Watson, who scored Southern Miss’ final five points of the game, swished a shot off the right wing with the shot clock winding down to give the Golden Eagles all the cushion they would need.

Southern Miss handed the Thundering Herd its first league loss.

LaShay Page added 15 points for Southern Miss.

Page scored all his points in the first half as the Golden Eagles ran out to a 42-30 edge at halftime.

Marshall’s DeAndre Kane led the Thundering Herd (13-6, 4-1) with 21 points.

But the Golden Eagles connected on just one of their first 10 shots in the second half, scoring just three points in the first 7 minutes of the half, and wound up shooting just 30.4 percent from the floor.

But Marshall struggled with its shooting touch much of the evening, too, hitting just 39 percent from the floor and 55 percent from the foul line.

It was the Thundering Herd’s rebounding that allowed them to get back in the game. Southern Miss held a 20-18 edge on the boards in the first half, but Marshall outrebounded its hosts 25-14 in the second.

The Thundering Herd, which led the nation by averaging 17.1 offensive rebounds a game coming in, had 15 Saturday.

Led by Watson (6 of 6) and Maurice Bolden (8 of 10), Southern Miss hit 20 of 29 free throws to hold off Marshall.