IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) Jasper Johnson had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Michael Ford scored seven straight points during a second-half spurt to help Southern Mississippi pull away in a 70-53 victory over Centenary on Saturday night.
Southern Mississippi (4-2) took third place in the Hawkeye Challenge with the victory and enabled coach Larry Eustachy to go 1-1 in his return to Iowa.
Centenary (0-5) recovered from a 15-2 deficit to make a run at the Golden Eagles but never got closer than four points. Chad Maclies led the Gents with 21 points.
Eustachy, in his first season with Southern Miss, coached at Iowa State for five years before being forced out because of his off-the-court behavior. About 30 family members and friends sat behind the Southern Mississippi bench during the two-day tournament, including Eustachy's former wife, Stacy, whom he divorced over the summer.
The Golden Eagles lost to UNC-Greensboro 79-78 on Friday night.
Rashaad Carruth added 16 points for Southern Mississippi, while Ford and Solomon Brown finished with 11 apiece. Brown had seven assists.
Southern Miss couldn't shake Centenary until going on a 10-1 run midway through the second half. Carruth started it with a 3-pointer and Ford scored the next seven points on a runner down the right side of the lane, a pull-up jumper and a 3-pointer, making it 55-40 with 7:57 to play.
Johnson, a 6-foot-8, 290-pound junior, also had four steals and capped his big night by converting a three-point play off a baseline drive with 22.5 seconds remaining.
