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Southern Miss downs UCF behind balanced attack

Jan 16, 2011 - 1:10 AM Hattiesburg, MS (Sports Network) - R.L. Horton notched 18 points and six rebounds as Southern Miss sent No. 23 UCF to a second straight loss, 86-69, at Reed Green Coliseum.

D.J. Newbill had 17 points and nine boards for the Golden Eagles (14-3, 3-1 C- USA), who were coming off an 81-78 overtime win against Rice on Wednesday. Maurice Bolden and Gary Flowers both scored 16 points in the win.

Marcus Jordan tallied a game-best 20 points for the Knights (14-2, 1-2), who have lost two straight after starting the season with a school-record 14 straight wins. Keith Clanton netted 14 points and hauled in seven rebounds in the loss.

UCF took the lead early in the second half on A.J. Rompza's three-pointer making it a 45-41 game.

However, with just over 11 minutes left in the game the Golden Eagles went on a decisive 15-2 run started by Bolden's jumper and ended with Horton's jump shot to put them up 70-55 with 7:23 left.

The home team never gave up the momentum and kept a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

The game started with a bang as Clanton made a three-point jumper and on the ensuing trip Josimar Ayarza had a thunderous dunk and was fouled by Tom Herzog. Ayarza then made the free throw.

The first half remained close, with Southern Miss getting the biggest lead 14-9, with just under 13 minutes remaining in the half thanks to Bolden's trey.

The half ended with a LaShay Page jumper with four seconds remaining to give Southern Miss a 36-35 lead at the half.

Game Notes

Southern Mississippi leads the series 5-3...The Golden Eagles shot a blistering 62.1 percent from the field in the second half. They ended the game making 51.6 percent of their shots...UCF was outrebounded, 37-27, and also turned the ball over 16 times.