MONROE, La. – Southern Miss outscored ULM 43-29 in the second half to pull away for a 71-58 win over the Warhawks Thursday night at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
 
Donovan Ivory led Southern Miss (9-7 overall, 3-1 Sun Belt Conference) with 22 points, while Austin Crowley added 20. Cobie Montgomery chipped in 12 points and Victor Hart tallied an 11-point, 14-rebound double-double. ULM (4-10, 0-4) put three players in double figures, led by Nika Metskhvarishvili's 14 points. Jalen Bolden had his third double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds while Tyreese Watson had 12 points.
 
Despite some turnovers, ULM started the game hot on the offensive end of the floor. The Warhawks built as much as an eight-point lead, doing so for the first time at 20-12 with 9:12 left in the first half on a jumper by Makai Willis. The lead hovered between six and eight points until Southern Miss limited ULM without a point for the final 4:19 of the half. The Golden Eagles used the time to go on a 6-0 spurt to cut the gap to 29-28 at halftime.
 
ULM managed just one free throw by Bolden in the first 3:53 of the second half, as the Warhawks went 8:12 of game time without a field goal between the two halves. Southern Miss went ahead for the first time since a 3-2 advantage on three free throws by Ivory at the 18:40 mark, going up 31-30. USM led just 33-30 on Hart's jumper before Metskhvarishvili ended the field goal drought with a layup to get back within one, 33-32, with 16:03 left.
 
However, Southern Miss had seized the momentum and built an eight-point lead of its own, 44-36, with 11:26 to go. ULM bounced back. A 3-pointer by Bolden cut the gap to three, 46-43. After Montgomery answered, the Warhawks mounted a 7-1 spurt to tie the game, doing so on Bolden's acrobatic shot from the right block, resulting in a traditional 3-point play to knot the game at 50 with 5:34 remaining.
 
The Golden Eagles responded with the next five points, as Crowley drained a jumper and Ivory connected on a 3-pointer. Tyreke Locure hit a jumper from the top of the key to get back within three, 55-52, but four quick points from Ivory extended the lead to seven, 59-52, with 3:07 left. ULM was never closer than five the rest of the way, as USM knocked down free throws to extend the lead.
 
Southern Miss shot 39% (22-of-56) from the field, 30% (6-of-20) from the 3-point line and 78% (21-of-27) at the free throw line, while ULM hit 37% (22-of-60) from the floor, 19% (3-of-16) from deep and 58% (11-of-19) at the foul line. Rebounding was tied at 39 apiece, with ULM pulling in 13 offensive rebounds to Southern Miss' nine. The Warhawks committed 16 turnovers to 10 for USM.
 
ULM concludes a four-game homestand at 2:30 p.m. Saturday against Texas State at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.