HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Giovanni De Nicolao scored a season-high 19 points, but Southern Miss went on a 19-2 second-half run to rally for a 77-59 win over visiting UTSA on Thursday night at Reed Green Coliseum.
De Nicolao went 7-of-16 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc, to go along with four rebounds and three assists to pace the Roadrunners (6-9, 1-1 C-USA), who fell to 0-4 all-time in Hattiesburg. Byron Frohnen neared a double-double with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Jeff Beverly added 11 points.
UTSA shot 53.1 percent in the opening half, but was limited to just 21.4 percent over the final 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, Khari Price and Quinton Campbell each scored 20 points for the Golden Eagles (4-10, 1-1 C-USA), who snapped a nine-game losing streak. Price, playing in his first game of the season, went 7-of-12 from the floor, while Campbell connected on eight of his 12 shots to help Southern Miss shoot 50.9 percent in the contest.
The home squad outscored UTSA 32-24 in the paint and held a 36-33 edge on the glass.
After a Southern Miss basket to start the night, UTSA caught fire from the field and made 11 of its first 15 attempts (73.3 percent) to grab an early 26-16 lead. The start included a stretch in which the visitors made nine consecutive field goals and the hot start was fueled by De Nicolao.
The freshman's jumper with 15:33 on the clock ignited the spurt and he made his first four attempts from behind the arc as the Roadrunners grabbed the double-digit lead with 11 minutes to go before halftime.
De Nicolao set a new season-high (16 points) with 8:23 left in the opening half on a baseline jumper that gave UTSA a 30-23 cushion.
However, the Golden Eagles responded with a 7-0 run to knot the score at 30. Gino Littles broke the tie with a 3-pointer and, following a steal by Austin Karrer, the junior's acrobatic layup helped UTSA take a 39-33 advantage to halftime.
Nick Allen scored on the Roadrunners' opening possession of the second half and a Frohnen basket with 16:31 to play gave UTSA a 45-37 lead.
But the Golden Eagles switched to a zone defense and the adjustment helped Southern Miss rattle off its game-changing 19-2 run. The zone held UTSA without a point for nearly six minutes and when the dust had settled, Southern Miss led 56-47.
The Golden Eagles kept UTSA off balance, but a Bola Alade layup pulled the visitors within 66-58 with 3:18 remaining. However that would be as close as the Roadrunners would get as Southern Miss closed the game on an 11-1 spurt for the 77-59 final.
UTSA will close the road trip with a 6 p.m. matchup on Saturday, Jan. 7 at Louisiana Tech (10-5, 2-0 C-USA).
