Elmore, Marshall stop Southern Miss 85-75, reach title game

FRISCO, Texas -- Jon Elmore scored 26 points and drained a timely 3-pointer after a seemingly comfortable lead disappeared to hold off Southern Miss 85-75 in the Conference USA semifinals on Friday and advance to the championship game for the second-straight year.

Marshall (23-10), the No. 4 seed, will meet no. 2 seed Old Dominion or third-seeded Western Kentucky in Saturday's championship game.

Ninth-seeded Southern Miss (16-18), which toppled two-time defending champion and No. 1-seeded Middle Tennessee, 71-68, in overtime in the quarterfinals, put a scare into Marshall. The Golden Eagles steadily whittled a 24-point gap down to six, 71-65, with three minutes left. Marshall had gone without…