Rice edged by Southern Mississippi

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) -- Jonathan Mills made two free throws with less than a second remaining Saturday night as Southern Mississippi edged Rice 58-56.

The Golden Eagles (23-6, 10-4 Conference USA) snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 14-0 at home.

Southern Miss coach Larry Eustachy logged his 400th career victory.

Rice (16-13, 7-7) lost for the third time in its last eight games.

With the score tied 56-56, Southern Miss guard Angelo Johnson missed a 3-pointer. Mills, who finished with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds, got the shot back up just before the buzzer and was fouled by Arsalan Kazemi.

Neil Watson led Southern Miss with 14 points, while Maurice Bolden added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Dylan Ennis led Rice with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Kazemi added 17 points and nine rebounds.

Southern Miss played without leading scorer LaShay Page, whose mother died earlier this week.