Southern Miss 56, Auburn 54
Published 8:33 pm Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Courtney Beasley’s 15-foot jump shot with 3 seconds left gave Southern Miss a 56-54 win over Auburn on Tuesday.
It was the 10th straight home win for the Golden Eagles (10-2) this season and 11th consecutive at Green Coliseum.
The Tigers (10-5) are the first Southeastern Conference team to visit Hattiesburg in 11 years.
Beasley’s game-winning shot came just seconds after Auburn’s DeWayne Reed tied the game with a 3-pointer.
Southern Miss guard Jeremy Wise scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the first half as the Golden Eagles built a slight 24-22 lead at intermission.
The Golden Eagles went on to take as much as an eight-point lead early in the second half, and led by 52-46 with 2:22 to play before the Tigers rallied.
Beasley finished with 11, while Dwayne Green had six rebounds.
Reed and Frank Tolbert each scored 11 for Auburn, and Quan Prowell had a game-high nine rebounds.
Southern Miss held Prowell, Auburn’s leading scorer, to five points — 10 less than his average.
Auburn had won four of its last five, and all four of its previous losses this season were to teams ranked in the Top 25.