The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
-237,134 CUSA
Southern Miss
-624,116 CUSA
UAB Clinches Double Bye in C-USA Tournament With 81-68 Victory at Southern Miss
3/2/2022 9:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The UAB men's basketball team clinched the No. 2 seed in Conference USA's West Division and a double bye in the C-USA Tournament with a 81-68 victory at Southern Miss on Wednesday night in Reed Green Coliseum.
After facing an early 7-4 deficit, UAB's offense ignited with a quick 12-2 run over 3:07 to give the Blazers the lead for good. Michael Ertel and Jordan Walker each drilled 3-pointers in UAB's first extended scoring run of the game, giving UAB a 16-9 lead with 12:14 remaining in the first half.
The Blazers (23-7, 13-4 C-USA) would stretch their lead to a first-half high 17 points when KJ Buffen buried a 3-pointer from the right corner, making it 42-25 Blazers with 1:36 remaining in the opening half. Southern Miss (6-24, 1-16 C-USA) would trim UAB's lead to 12 points at the break with a 7-2 run in the first half's closing minutes.
Ertel continued his sharpshooting in the second half, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch UAB's lead back out to 53-37 with 18:27 remaining. The graduate guard opened Wednesday's contest 5-for-5, drilling all five of his shots from behind the arc.
The Blazers expanded their lead to a then game-high 21 points when Quan Jackson converted a jumper in the paint, stretching UAB's advantage to 71-50 with 9:01 left on the clock. Jackson's finish in the paint capped off a 8-0 run for the Blazers over 2:30.
Jackson extended UAB's lead to a game-high 22 points with 6:05 remaining when he knocked down a free throw. Jackson's made attempt from a line followed a layup from Tavin Lovan and another made 3-pointer from Ertel.
The Green and Gold exceled from behind the 3-point line in Wednesday's victory, going 12-of-20 (60%) with four Blazers knocking down a triple.
UAB dominated Southern Miss in bench points, outscoring the Golden Eagles 28-1 in bench scoring. Ertel supplied 20 of UAB's 28 points off the bench.
Wednesday's victory marked UAB's fourth straight win over the Golden Eagles. The Blazers have won three of those past four matchups by double digits.
Walker (21) led all scorers with 21 points. Ertel (18) and Jackson (11) joined Walker in double figures. Center Trey Jemison tied a season-high 12 rebounds for the third straight game, pulling down six of UAB's 12 offensive boards in the game. Jemison just missed out on his second double-double of the road trip, finishing with eight points on 4-of-6 shooting.
The Blazers will conclude their regular season schedule Saturday when UAB welcomes Louisiana Tech for Senior Day in Bartow Arena. Saturday's tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and will be carried live on Stadium. UAB earned an 83-76 victory at Louisiana Tech on Jan. 22, snapping LA Tech's 18-game home winning streak.
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.
Discounted group tickets and fan experiences are available for a minimum purchase of 15 tickets to any home basketball game during the 2021-22 season. Groups are encouraged to complete the UAB Basketball Group Ticket Request Form or call the UAB Athletics Ticket Office for more information.
2022-23 men's basketball season tickets are also now on sale and start for as low as $110 in Blaze's Corner. The public season-ticket price is set at $275, while employee and alumni season tickets are set at $245 per seat.
