Final Score: Houston 93, East Carolina 80

Tulsa, OK (Sports Network) - Aubrey Coleman had 29 points and five assists as Houston downed East Carolina, 93-80, in the first round of the Conference-USA Tournament.

Kelvin Lewis had 15 points and Desmond Wade added 13 points and seven assists for the Cougars (16-15), who has won three of their last five games and will take on Memphis Thursday.

Brock Young had 24 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Darrius Morrow added 22 points for the Pirates (10-21), who closed out their season by losing four of their last five games.

Houston held a nine-point lead on a Coleman layup with about 9 1/2 minutes left in the first half, but East Carolina closed the gap to three on a Jamar Abrams three-ball with 6:39 remaining.

However, the Cougars later ripped off an 11-2 run to help the team take a 50-37 lead into the locker room.

Houston led by as many as 26 points in the second half, but an 11-1 run by East Carolina got the team to within nine points as Corvonn Gaines' layup made it an 89-80 game with 2:06 left.

The Cougars, though, kept the Pirates off the board for the rest of the game to escape with the win.

Final Score: Southern Miss 57, Tulane 47

Tulsa, OK (Sports Network) - Gary Flowers scored 17 points and hauled in 14 rebounds -- both game-highs -- and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles defeated the Tulane Green Wave, 57-47, in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament.

Torye Pelham and Angelo Johnson each added 11 points for sixth-seeded Southern Miss (19-12), which advanced to face third-seeded UAB in Thursday's second round. The Eagles managed to sneak by Tulane despite shooting just 32.8 percent from the field and 0-for-7 from beyond the arc.

Kris Richard and Johnny Mayhane scored eight points apiece to lead the Green Wave (8-22), who had won their final regular season game after losing their previous seven. Kendall Timmons, Kevin Sims, Jordan Callahan and David Booker each had six points in defeat.

The Eagles looked to take control early, getting out to a 10-2 lead and pushing the advantage to 19-8 on a Pelham free throw with 10:45 left in the first half.

Southern Miss ended the first half with a 25-16 cushion and extended it to 41-27 on a Buchi Awaji dunk with 13:40 to play. Tulane answered with a 6-0 run but couldn't get any closer than eight, as Pelham put the Eagles ahead by double-digits for good with a slam to make it 46-35 with 4:14 to go.

03/10 18:41:02 ET