Heading into the game with a 1-9 record on the road, the Southern Miss men’s basketball team (12-12, C-USA 5-6) found success at FAU Arena on Saturday night, defeating the Florida Atlantic Owls (10-13, C-USA 4-7) by a score of 77-66.

The two teams fought for control of the contest, changing leads seven times during the first half.

Southern Miss was able to head into halftime with a 38-21 lead by taking advantage of 10 defensive rebounds and converting 54.2 percent of its first-half shots.

Junior guard Tyree Griffin added 13 points while freshman Ladavius Draine added three defensive rebounds for the Golden Eagles.

Southern Miss maintained its lead for the entire second half despite being outscored by the Owls 45-39. FAU made it a sixpoint game after two successful free throws by William Pfister with 37 seconds left to play, but the Golden Eagles closed out the game with five consecutive points of their own to earn their second road win of the season.

Four Golden Eagles had double-digit scoring nights. Griffin led the way with 21 points while junior Dominic Magee tacked on 16 points in the second half. Junior Cortez Edwards finished with 15 points and senior D’Angelo Richardson had 10 points on the night. Magee also led the team in total rebounds with seven.

Head Coach Doc Sadler was pleased with his team’s effort during their second straight road game.

“Total team effort and a great win for us,” Sadler said. “I knew it would be difficult, but you have to tip your hat to our guys for playing all 40 minutes.”

The Golden Eagles will look to get win number 13 when they return to Reed Green Coliseum on Feb. 8 to face Old Dominion. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.