The Southern Miss men’s basketball team is now on a three-game winning streak to start the 2018-2019 season following an 81-66 road win over Troy on Thursday night.

Southern Miss jumped out to a 13-5 lead over Troy six minutes into the first half. The Golden Eagles continued to expand on that lead throughout the half, going into halftime with a 42-26 lead. Senior Cortez Edwards added 16 first-half points, including two three-point shots.

Edwards also made history early in the second half. With 16:49 left to play, Edwards reached the 1,000-point mark in his career, becoming the 37th Southern Miss player to do so. The last player to reach 1,000 career points while at Southern Miss was Gary Flowers in 2011.

Southern Miss Head Coach Doc Sadler talked about Edwards’ career and his impact on the team.

“He has constantly improved his game and he is the most important thing: a winner. He makes our team better,” Sadler said. “He’s reached 1,000 points, and he’s done a tremendous job. We’re going to miss him when he’s gone, but we sure will enjoy the next 30 or so games we have with him.”

The Golden Eagles cruised to a victory in the second half. While Troy outscored the team 40-39, Southern Miss converted 48.5 percent of its second-half field goal attempts and 46.7 percent of its three-point attempts in the half to hold on for the 81-66 win.

Edwards finished the night as the team leader in points with 26 and was second on the team in total rebounds with six. Redshirt senior Tyree Griffin and redshirt junior Leonard Harper-Baker each had 10 points on the night. Harper-Baker also had a team-high eight rebounds for the Golden Eagles in the game.

Overall, Southern Miss converted on 53.2 percent of its field goal attempts in the contest. The Southern Miss defense also forced nine Troy turnovers, scoring 12 points off of those turnovers.

The Golden Eagles will look to improve to 4-0 on the season when they take on North Florida in the Cancun Classic on Nov. 20. Tipoff in Cancun, Mexico is set for 2 p.m.