Dominant Second Half Propels UAB to 84-63 Win Over Southern Miss

Thursday, February 10

Bartow Arena

6 p.m.

UAB

-195,92 CUSA

SOUTHERN MISS

-617,19 CUSA

Southern Miss.

UAB

Photo by: Ken Shepherd

Dominant Second Half Propels UAB to 84-63 Win Over Southern Miss

2/10/2022 9:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Postgame Press Conference

BIRMINGHAM – The UAB men's basketball team dominated the second half in an 84-63 victory over Southern Miss Thursday night in Bartow Arena. The Blazers outscored the Golden Eagles 47-26 in the final 20 minutes to move to a perfect 14-0 in Bartow Arena this season.

After Southern Miss' Rashad Bolden tied the game at 37-37 in the first half's closing seconds, the Blazers surged out of the halftime break, opening the half on an 18-7 run to take a 55-44 lead.

Jamal Johnson, who played 14 minutes off the bench in Thursday's win, drilled a 3-pointer and was fouled at the top of the arc to stretch UAB's lead to double digits with 14:22 remaining. Johnson then nailed the free throw to extend the Blazers' advantage to 11 points.

UAB (19-5, 9-2 C-USA) cruised the rest of the way, only allowing the Golden Eagles (6-17, 1-9 C-USA) to come within nine points over the final 14 minutes.

"I thought we were really efficient in the second half and held them to 20% shooting in the second half," head coach Andy Kennedy said. "I'm proud of our effort in the second half, and survive and advance is the name of the game in February."

Quan Jackson served as the spark plug for the Blazers all night long, finishing with his second-career double-double in as many games with 11 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals. Jackson stretched UAB's lead to over 20 points for the first time in Thursday's matchup with a layup with 7:23 remaining, extending the Blazers' advantage to 75-54.

Jordan Walker made it eight straight games with 20 points or more with 25 points in Thursday's victory. Walker locked in in the final 20 minutes, going 3-of-4 from the field and 5-of-5 from the foul line to finish with 13 points, five assists and a steal in the second half. The Port Washington, New York native also surpassed 1,000 points for his collegiate career with his first made three-pointer in Thursday's 21-point triumph.

The Blazers dominated the paint in Thursday's conference victory, outscoring the Golden Eagles 38-18 in points in the paint. UAB also committed only five turnovers over the entire 40 minutes, tying its season low previously set in UAB's 76-65 win over Florida Atlantic on Jan. 15.

Five Blazers finished Thursday's game in double figures – Walker (25), KJ Buffen (12), Johnson (11), Jackson (11) and Trey Jemison (10). Jemison fell just one rebound short of his fourth double-double of the season.

UAB will hit the road from a quick one-game road swing at Old Dominion (9-15, 4-7 C-USA) on Sunday. Sunday's game in Norfolk, Virginia, is set to begin at 1 p.m. CT and will be broadcasted live on ESPNU.

MEN'S BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION
UAB men's basketball single-game tickets start as low as $12 and can be purchased by clicking here or calling the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1.

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