Malone, Stevenson carry Southern Miss past Rice 81-68

HATTIESBURD, Miss. (AP) — Jay Malone hit six of 10 3-pointers to score a career-high 27 points and made seven assists and Southern Miss ended a five-game skid with its first Conference USA win of the season on Saturday, 81-68 over Rice.

Tyler Stevenson scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Golden Eagles (5-14, 1-5). Leonard Harper-Baker scored 12 points with seven rebounds and four assists and Ladavius Draine had eight points and 10 rebounds.

Trey Murphy III scored 19 points off the bench and Josh Parrish added 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting for the Owls (9-10, 1-5), who shot 37% from the floor (22 of 60). Drew Peterson had eight rebounds.

Southern Miss matches up against UAB on the road on Thursday. Rice faces North Texas on the road on Monday.