HATTIESBURG, Miss. (Interstat) — Southern Mississippi used a strong second half to defeat Louisiana-Monroe 70-60 in a Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball game Saturday at Reed Green Coliseum.

The Golden Eagles, who led 31-28 at halftime, outscored the Warhawks 39-32 after intermission. Southern Mississippi’s interior dominance was key, outscoring Louisiana-Monroe 34-22 in the paint and scoring 17 points off turnovers.

Djahi Binet led Southern Mississippi with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Tylik Weeks added 20 points, six rebounds and three blocks, while Dylan Brumfield contributed 15 points and five rebounds.

Louisiana-Monroe, which lost its sixth straight game, got 28 first-half points but could not keep pace. Southern Mississippi improved to 11-7 overall. Louisiana-Monroe fell to 3-15. Attendance was 2,840.