FRISCO, Texas -- Cortez Edwards scored 29 points with seven rebounds and six assists and Southern Mississippi held on to edge Florida International 69-68 on Wednesday night in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament.
No. 9 seed Southern Miss (15-17) now heads to the quarterfinals against top-seeded Middle Tennessee on Thursday.
The teams were tied at 55 with 2:51 to play when a Dominic Magee free throw gave Southern Miss the lead for good, and an Edwards layup followed by a D'Angelo Richardson 3-pointer, stretched it to 61-57 with 1:45 left.