Griffin leads Southern Miss over Middle Tennessee 77-70

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) Tyree Griffin had six of his 21 points in the final 2 1/2 minutes to help Southern Miss hold off Middle Tennessee 77-70, handing the Blue Raiders their 12th consecutive loss on Thursday night.

The Golden Eagles (9-7, 1-3 Conference USA) led by 16 after an 11-0 run early in the second half, but the Blue Raiders (3-13, 0-3) closed the deficit to 65-59 on Donovan Sims' 3-pointer with 2:54 left. Griffin answered with a pair of free throws and Kevin Holland's 3-pointer pushed the lead to 11. Middle Tennessee got no closer than the final score.

Sims finished with a career-high 28 points on 12-of-16 shooting. He was 4 of 6 from 3-point range.

LaDavius Draine added 14 points and Gabe Watson scored 12 for the Eagles.

Reggie Scurry had 15 points and Antonio Green added 10 for the Blue Raiders.