The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Thursday, January 11
Bartow Arena
7:00 PM
UAB
12-5, 3-1
86
vs
75
Southern Miss
9-9, 2-3
1
2
F
Southern Miss
27
48
75
UAB
46
40
86
Blazers Down Southern Miss for Third Straight Win
1/11/2018 9:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – William Lee's early performance shaped what kind of offensive night it would be for the UAB men's basketball team on Thursday night in an 86-75 Conference USA victory over Southern Miss at Bartow Arena.
That was a welcome sight for Lee's teammates.
"I think it's pretty much self-explanatory," said fellow UAB senior Chris Cokley. "When HaHa is rolling, pretty much, the team is rolling. HaHa, I felt like, was a huge sparkplug for us opening the game. That really got us going."
Most of Lee's recent contributions have come on the defensive end. He scored 12 points in the loss to Middle Tennessee but that was the lone time he reached double digits in the seven games prior to Thursday night.
On Thursday, it was evident quickly that Lee was ready to make a big impact on offense. He hit his first six shots from the field. His first miss came with 3:21left in the first half. However, he rebounded the miss and was fouled while going back up for the follow. Lee made both of those shots to finish with 14 points and seven rebounds in 13 first half minutes.
His teammates joined him. Sophomore Nate Darling tied a career high with 20 points and hit six 3-pointers against Southern Miss for the second consecutive season. Lee and Darling were joined in double digits by Cokley (18 points, 8 rebounds) and Zack Bryant (19 points). As a team, the Blazers shot 61.5 percent and outscored the Golden Eagles, 32-18, in the paint.
Nick Norton finished with eight points to go along with eight assists, five steals, a blocked shot and no turnovers against one of the quickest teams in C-USA.
"For a good part of that game, you had all five guys, especially the starters, playing at a high level," said UAB head coach Robert Ehsan, whose team improved to 12-5 overall and 3-1 in C-USA. "I thought you saw the result, offensively, of what we're capable of doing. It's amazing the percentage (68.8 percent) of what our starters shot from the field tonight."
The offense started quickly for the Blazers. UAB used a 14-0 run early in the game to take a 16-4 lead with 16:25 left in the first half. Lee had three buckets during that stretch and Darling and Bryant each had 3-pointers.
However, as they would a few times during the night, the Golden Eagles chipped away at the lead. Southern Miss (9-9 overall, 2-3 C-USA) eventually trimmed the lead to 28-23 with 6:06 left in the half. Lee's short jumper triggered an 8-0 run to get the lead back to double digits.
The Blazers eventually took a 46-27 lead into halftime with Darling's 3-pointer from the right corner with 12 seconds left providing the final points.
The Blazers maintained the comfortable advantage for most of the second half, largely because of the unselfish way they shared the basketball on the offensive end. UAB ended up with 20 assists on 32 made baskets, marking the fifth time this season the Blazers had at least 20 assists.
"The more energy that's on the floor, the more touches we get, it usually goes in," Darling said. "If I get one more pass, I'm usually wide open. Usually, if we take a wide open shot, there's a good chance it's going in. Give credit to our team."
Southern Miss got back into the game three points at a time. The Golden Eagles got the deficit under double digits on a 3-pointer by Kevin Holland with 2:36 left. After a basket by Bryant, Southern Miss guard LaDavius Draine made another 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 81-73.
UAB was able to hold on afterwards with a big basket by Lewis Sullivan, two free throws from Jalen Perry and a Sullivan free throw.
"Pleased with the outcome of the game," said Ehsan, whose time has won six of the past seven games. "I thought for a long stretch of that game – 28 to 32 minutes – we played very good basketball. Give them credit for coming back, they never quit. They made 10 three-pointers in the second half. We got a little sloppy with the basketball, but, overall, a very good conference win."
For more information on UAB men's basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), Instagram (@UAB_MBB) and Snapchat (@UAB_MBB).
That was a welcome sight for Lee's teammates.
"I think it's pretty much self-explanatory," said fellow UAB senior Chris Cokley. "When HaHa is rolling, pretty much, the team is rolling. HaHa, I felt like, was a huge sparkplug for us opening the game. That really got us going."
Most of Lee's recent contributions have come on the defensive end. He scored 12 points in the loss to Middle Tennessee but that was the lone time he reached double digits in the seven games prior to Thursday night.
On Thursday, it was evident quickly that Lee was ready to make a big impact on offense. He hit his first six shots from the field. His first miss came with 3:21left in the first half. However, he rebounded the miss and was fouled while going back up for the follow. Lee made both of those shots to finish with 14 points and seven rebounds in 13 first half minutes.
His teammates joined him. Sophomore Nate Darling tied a career high with 20 points and hit six 3-pointers against Southern Miss for the second consecutive season. Lee and Darling were joined in double digits by Cokley (18 points, 8 rebounds) and Zack Bryant (19 points). As a team, the Blazers shot 61.5 percent and outscored the Golden Eagles, 32-18, in the paint.
Nick Norton finished with eight points to go along with eight assists, five steals, a blocked shot and no turnovers against one of the quickest teams in C-USA.
"For a good part of that game, you had all five guys, especially the starters, playing at a high level," said UAB head coach Robert Ehsan, whose team improved to 12-5 overall and 3-1 in C-USA. "I thought you saw the result, offensively, of what we're capable of doing. It's amazing the percentage (68.8 percent) of what our starters shot from the field tonight."
The offense started quickly for the Blazers. UAB used a 14-0 run early in the game to take a 16-4 lead with 16:25 left in the first half. Lee had three buckets during that stretch and Darling and Bryant each had 3-pointers.
However, as they would a few times during the night, the Golden Eagles chipped away at the lead. Southern Miss (9-9 overall, 2-3 C-USA) eventually trimmed the lead to 28-23 with 6:06 left in the half. Lee's short jumper triggered an 8-0 run to get the lead back to double digits.
The Blazers eventually took a 46-27 lead into halftime with Darling's 3-pointer from the right corner with 12 seconds left providing the final points.
The Blazers maintained the comfortable advantage for most of the second half, largely because of the unselfish way they shared the basketball on the offensive end. UAB ended up with 20 assists on 32 made baskets, marking the fifth time this season the Blazers had at least 20 assists.
"The more energy that's on the floor, the more touches we get, it usually goes in," Darling said. "If I get one more pass, I'm usually wide open. Usually, if we take a wide open shot, there's a good chance it's going in. Give credit to our team."
Southern Miss got back into the game three points at a time. The Golden Eagles got the deficit under double digits on a 3-pointer by Kevin Holland with 2:36 left. After a basket by Bryant, Southern Miss guard LaDavius Draine made another 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 81-73.
UAB was able to hold on afterwards with a big basket by Lewis Sullivan, two free throws from Jalen Perry and a Sullivan free throw.
"Pleased with the outcome of the game," said Ehsan, whose time has won six of the past seven games. "I thought for a long stretch of that game – 28 to 32 minutes – we played very good basketball. Give them credit for coming back, they never quit. They made 10 three-pointers in the second half. We got a little sloppy with the basketball, but, overall, a very good conference win."
For more information on UAB men's basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), Instagram (@UAB_MBB) and Snapchat (@UAB_MBB).
Team Stats
USM
UAB
FG%
.492
.615
3FG%
.441
.471
FT%
1.000
.700
RB
19
33
TO
12
14
STL
8
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
6
FTM
0
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Guard
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