South Florida learned quickly that life without Dominique Jones isn't going to be easy. Gary Flowers and Devonte Newbill made key buckets in the final two minutes to push Southern Miss past the Bulls, 60-53, in the opener for both at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla.

Jones, who led the Big East in scoring last year with 21.3 ppg as a junior for South Florida, is a Dallas Maverick these days. On the flip side, the Golden Eagles returned their entire starting lineup and top five scorers from a year ago, led by Flowers (15.0 ppg), who also buried three free throws in the last 28.1 seconds to seal the victory.

R.L. Horton added 14 for Southern Miss, which led most of the first half and held a 32-28 halftime margin.

Jawanza Poland's 12 points led the Bulls, who are coming off a 20-13 mark in 2009-10 that included their best finish since joining the Big East at 9-9. They earned a bid to the NIT, where they lost a 58-57 heartbreaker at home to North Carolina State in the first round.

Southern Miss finished 20-14 overall, 8-8 in Conference-USA last season.