TULSA, Okla. -- Gary Flowers had 17 points and 14 rebounds as Southern Miss defeated Tulane 57-47 in the first round of the Conference USA tournament Wednesday.
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Southern Miss, the sixth seed, will play third-seeded UAB in a quarterfinal matchup Thursday.
The Golden Eagles (19-12) never trailed against Tulane, scoring the first eight points.
Torye Pelham's three-point play -- a dunk and a free throw -- put Southern Miss up 19-8 with 10:45 left in the half. The Eagles led 25-16 at halftime.
The Golden Eagles' biggest lead was at 41-27 in the second half. The Green Wave (8-22) never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Pelham and Angelo Johnson scored 11 points for Southern Miss, which made just 33 percent of its shots (19 for 58). Tulane, which struggled even more at 31 percent (19 for 62), got eight points apiece from Kris Richard and Johnny Mayhane.
