MEMPHIS (AP)- John Grice scored 17 points and Chris Massie added 16 points and nine rebounds Saturday to lead Memphis to an 80-62 victory over Southern Mississippi.
Grice connected on 6-of-11 from the field, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range. The Tigers (12-5, 3-3 Conference USA) connected on 14 3-pointers, one short of the school record.
Southern Mississippi (9-9, 2-5) lost its fifth straight game, its last win coming Jan. 11 against Memphis in Hattiesburg, Miss.
Anthony Rice scored 15 for Memphis, and Antonio Burks added 10, plus a career-high 12 assists.
Charles Gaines led the Golden Eagles with 17 points, and David Haywood added 11.
Each time Southern Mississippi rallied, Memphis hit another 3-pointer. Memphis led by double digits the final 11 minutes of the game.
Memphis opened the game with a 13-0 run and led by as many as 15 before taking a 40-30 lead at halftime. The Tigers, who hit five of their first six shots, including all three 3-pointers, were led by Grice with eight.
Gaines led the Golden Eagles with six, while four others scored five points in the half.
Memphis hit 8 of its 12 3-point shots in the half.
Southern cut the lead to four, 46-42, when Gaines scored inside with just over 14 minutes to play.
But Memphis answered with a 19-4 run to extend the lead back to double digits, Massie and Grice scoring six points in the streak. A pair of 3-pointers by Grice ended the run and gave Memphis a 65-46 lead with just just under nine minutes to play, and the Golden Eagles got no closer than 12 the rest of the way.
