Southern Miss. 16, Arkansas St. 10

11/24/2007 5:49 PM

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) -Justin Estes kicked three field goals and Damion Fletcher ran for 133 yards and a touchdown as Southern Mississippi defeated Arkansas State 16-10 Saturday in Hattiesburg.

The victory assured Southern Miss (7-5) of its 14th straight winning season. The Golden Eagles will also be going to a bowl game for the ninth time in the past 10 years.

The loss prevented Arkansas State (5-7) from recording a break even season. The Indians were attempting to win six games in a season for the third straight year.

Estes made kicks from 21, 29 and 37 yards for Southern Miss.

The Eagles took 7-3 lead into halftime on a 1-yard touchdown by Fletcher.

The Eagles extended the lead to 10-3 on Estes' 21-yard field goal six minutes into the second half before Arkansas State tied the game on a 3-yard scoring run by Brandon Tompkins.

Estes then sealed the win in the final period with his last two field goals.

The Indians drove the Southern Miss 23 as the game wound down but Eagles linebacker Gerald McRath made a tackle on a fourth and one play to stop the threat.