By Paul Letlow, ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – ULM produced balanced scoring in the box score on Saturday, but not nearly enough to win.

In a defensive struggle where offense was hard to muster for both teams, Southern Miss dropped the cold-shooting Warhawks 60-47 at Reed Green Coliseum.

"On the defensive end in particular, I thought we played hard," ULM coach Keith Richard said. "It's tough for our guys because they played so hard on that end and they didn't get rewarded on the offensive end."

ULM (2-4) had 10 different players score but none reached double figures. The Warhawks shot just 35 percent (18-for-51) and made 17 turnovers, leading to 18 points for the home team. ULM was just 5-of-7 from the free throw line.

"We'll keep working at it and find our way offensively," Richard said. "We're still working on that and trying to get better in that particular area."

The Golden Eagles (3-3) shot 34 percent (20-of-58) but also finished 13-of-18 from the free throw line.

"I thought we took a step forward on the defensive end today," Richard said. "We hold them to 34 percent for the game, 30 percent from the 3-point line. Those are great numbers. But obviously the offensive end wasn't there."

Russell Harrison led ULM with nine points but was 2-for-12 from the field.

"He needs to be more patient and get better shots," Richard said of Harrison, who came in as ULM's top scorer at 14.4 ppg. "I think in junior college sometimes, he could just jump over guys and shoot over them and get some easy buckets. It's not the same in Division I. There's other good players, stronger players, taller players, and so he's having to adjust to Division I live action and all that comes with that. He's struggling but we certainly need him to get on track."

LaDavius Draine scored 17 and Tae Hardy added 16 to lead the Golden Eagles, who closed out their win with a 33-21 second half.

Southern Miss led 27-26 at halftime as both teams struggled to find an offensive rhythm. In a half full of runs and droughts for both squads. the Warhawks shot 32.3 percent (10-of-31) while the Golden Eagles shot 30.3 percent (10-of-33).

Southern Miss rode a 10-0 run and took 10-3 lead as Warhawks labored for four minutes, 11 seconds without scoring

The Warhawks utilized their own 12-2 run and regained the lead at 17-15 on Koreem Ozier's 3-pointer with 8:09 left in the first half. ULM's last lead of the half was 21-18 with 4:38 to go.

ULM opened the second half with six turnovers in the first four minutes, 9 seconds and a scoring drought that extended past six minutes. But with Southern Miss going through its own struggles offensively too, the Warhawks stayed within four points.

"When you're on the road and get the home team down in terms of getting stops, you need to take advantage," Richard said. "That's not going to happen the whole game, particularly on the road. We didn't and we paid the price."

The Golden Eagles began to find their stroke and pull away. Jaron Pierre's back-to-back 3-pointers extended the lead to 44-35 for Southern Miss with 9:03 left in the game.

USM was up by 11, its largest lead to that point, when Erie Olonade hit a 3-pointer with 6:50 showing to make it a 48-40 score. However, the Warhawks went without a field goal until Harrison's 3-pointer with 2:24 remaining and failed to make a run back into contention.

Tail feathers: Freshman Thomas Howell made the second start of his career and finished with six points and five rebounds. . … Freshman D'Marcus Hall delivered seven points off the bench. … Nine different players scored for ULM in the first half. … The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series 23-15.  The Warhawks' last victory in Hattiesburg came on Dec. 8, 1992, 79-67. … ULM didn't attempt a free throw until the 1:26 mark of the first half. … The Warhawks return home Dec. 22 for a rematch with Louisiana Tech.  Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ULM opened the season in Ruston on Dec. 3 with a 78-62 loss to the Bulldogs.