When Carson Williams is at his best, Western Kentucky is tough to beat.

That was the case Saturday night.

Although Southern Miss controlled the first half and gave them everything they could handle, the Hilltoppers used a strong performance from Williams and a big late 3-pointer by Camron Justice to come away with a hard-fought 75-72 win at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Williams finished with 24 points – on 9-of-11 shooting – and five rebounds and was one of four in double figures for WKU (16-8 overall, 9-3 Conference USA). Alongside Williams, Josh Anderson scored 16 points, Jared Savage had 13 and Justice tallied 12.

The Toppers shot 25-of-59 (42%) from the field and 6-of-27 (22%) from 3-point range.

LaDavius Draine scored 21 points to lead Southern Miss (7-18, 3-9).

Both teams started hot and were tied 10-10 at the 17:18 mark of the first half, but WKU cooled off and Southern Miss kept scoring. Gabe Watson scored to put the Golden Eagles up 20-17 at the 13:00 mark, and Leonard Harper-Baker and Arthur Konontsuk both recorded baskets soon after to give them a 24-17 lead.

Watson’s bucket with 6:02 remaining in the half made it 32-23 USM, but WKU got within 32-28 with 3:59 left. However, Watson soon drilled a deep 3 just before the shot clock horn and Boban Jacdonmi beat the halftime horn with a layup to put Southern Miss in front by 10 at 41-31 at the break.

The Golden Eagles shot 16-31 (52%) in the first half and 6-14 (43%) from 3, while the Hilltoppers went 12-33 (36%) and 2-14 (14%) from deep. USM finished 28-64 (44%) and 10-28 (36%) on the night.

WKU started the second half on a positive note, scoring the first six points to trim its deficit to 41-37 just 1:15 in, but Watson hit a pull-up jumper to give Southern Miss a 50-41 lead at the 16:25 mark. The Toppers answered the Golden Eagles’ run with five straight points from Anderson, and Williams hit a pair of free throws to bring them within 50-48 at the 14:32 mark.

Anderson’s pair at the line brought WKU within 56-55 with 11:48 remaining, and it later trailed 59-57 after a Williams dunk with 8:50 remaining.

Justice’s runner tied it at 61-61, but Harper-Baker answered with a layup to give USM a 63-61 lead – and it remained the same for nearly three minutes before Williams hit a free throw to make it 63-62 with 3:54 left.

Savage’s triple put the Hilltoppers in front 65-63 – but Southern Miss quickly responded with an and-one by Tyler Stevenson to go up 66-65. Williams scored to give WKU the lead back at 67-66 with 1:53 remaining, and then hit two at the line to make it 69-66 with 1:03 to go.

Leading 69-68, Justice stepped up and netted his huge 3 – one that sent the Hilltoppers out on top.

WKU returns to action Thursday on the road at Texas-El Paso. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT.