TULSA, Okla. – Chris Crawford scored 23 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer in double overtime, and No. 20 Memphis beat Southern Miss 91-79 on Saturday to win its seventh Conference USA tournament title in the past eight years.
Crawford, the league's Sixth Man of the Year, connected on a 3-pointer from the left wing to put the top-seeded Tigers (30-4) up 78-76 with 2:44 remaining. He also had a jumper and a pair of free throws in a 9-0 run by Memphis soon after that finally put the game away.
Daveon Boardingham scored 19 points and Jonathan Mills had 15 points and 17 rebounds for second-seeded Southern Miss (25-9), which nearly clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Instead, the Golden Eagles must hope to get their second straight at-large bid on Sunday.
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