The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Saturday, February 17
Hattiesburg, Miss.
4:00 PM
UAB
-1711, 87 CUSA
87
at
69
Southern Miss
-1315, 69 CUSA
1
2
F
UAB
33
54
87
Southern Miss
36
33
69
Lee Leads UAB to Road Win Over Southern Miss
2/17/2018 6:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Turnovers were once again a big story for the UAB men's basketball team. This time, though, turnovers come with a positive spin.
UAB cut its turnovers in half during what might have been the best 20 minutes of basketball in quite some time for the Blazers. What that meant was the Blazers were able to get quality shots and they converted on 68 percent of those second half shots during an 87-69 victory over Southern Miss at Reed Green Coliseum.
"They came out today with a higher level of trust offensively," said UAB head coach Robert Ehsan. "We still had some turnovers in the first half, which I thought really hurt us. Once we cleaned that up a little bit, made the adjustment, the passing was back, and guys stepped up. We had some really good individual performances. It was a heckuva win without Chris Cokley."
Back problems kept Cokley out of the starting lineup for just the third time this season and first since C-USA play began. The Conference USA Player of the Year candidate played just eight minutes, scoring seven points and grabbing a rebound.
Obviously, Cokley's absence is a problem for the Blazers. On Saturday, though, William Lee and Lewis Sullivan minimized the effect.
Lee was sensational, scoring 20 points to go along with 14 rebounds. He was 7-of-9 overall from the field and 3-of-4 on 3-pointers. He added four assists, a blocked shot and a steal in 36 minutes.
"Before the game, I don't know what got into me," said Lee, who has battled through health issues all season. "All the sudden, I felt bouncy and was feeling it. I just came out and had a good game tonight."
Sullivan also had an excellent game. The 6-foot-7 junior had 15 points, on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 shooting from the free throw line. He added six rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes.
"Lewis Sullivan did a heckuva job tonight," said Ehsan said. "He made his free throws, played big, scored inside. I was really proud of Lewis."
Very little that UAB (17-11 overall, 8-7 C-USA) did in the first 20 minutes suggested that the Blazers were headed to a blowout victory. It wasn't that the Blazers played poorly in the first half, but 10 turnovers kept them from pulling away. Southern Miss (13-15 overall, 6-9 C-USA) did enough to take a 36-33 lead at the halftime break.
The game remained close for the first nine minutes of the second half. Southern Miss actually built the lead to five points on two different occasions. The complexion changed at the midway point when short buckets by Zack Bryant and Nick Norton tied the score at 57. Southern Miss regained the lead on two free throws, but the rest of the game belonged to the Blazers.
Bryant's drive to the bucket for a left-handed layup began a quick 8-0 spurt that was ended by two more Southern Miss free throws. Sullivan's short jumper started a 13-0 run that ended with UAB holding a 78-61 lead with 3:21 left in the game.
Put those five minutes together and UAB went on a 21-2 run that included 3-pointers by Jalen Perry, Norton and Nate Darling.
UAB was able to cruise to the victory from that point. Overall, UAB outscored Southern Miss, 30-10, over the final 8:35 of the game.
Bryant scored 15 second half points and also finished with four rebounds, three assists and just one turnover. His only points off the first half – a three-point play with 5:28 left before halftime carried historic significance. With those points, Bryant became UAB's single season leader for freshman scoring, eclipsing Demario Eddins record of 349 points, set in 2002-03. Bryant got a good start on extending that record in the second half.
Perry also had a big hand in the big second half. Perry struggled in the first half, turning the ball over three times and missing his lone shot in eight minutes. His second half production included eight points and two assists in 13 minutes.
For more information on UAB men's basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), Instagram (@UAB_MBB) and Snapchat (@UAB_MBB).
UAB cut its turnovers in half during what might have been the best 20 minutes of basketball in quite some time for the Blazers. What that meant was the Blazers were able to get quality shots and they converted on 68 percent of those second half shots during an 87-69 victory over Southern Miss at Reed Green Coliseum.
"They came out today with a higher level of trust offensively," said UAB head coach Robert Ehsan. "We still had some turnovers in the first half, which I thought really hurt us. Once we cleaned that up a little bit, made the adjustment, the passing was back, and guys stepped up. We had some really good individual performances. It was a heckuva win without Chris Cokley."
Back problems kept Cokley out of the starting lineup for just the third time this season and first since C-USA play began. The Conference USA Player of the Year candidate played just eight minutes, scoring seven points and grabbing a rebound.
Obviously, Cokley's absence is a problem for the Blazers. On Saturday, though, William Lee and Lewis Sullivan minimized the effect.
Lee was sensational, scoring 20 points to go along with 14 rebounds. He was 7-of-9 overall from the field and 3-of-4 on 3-pointers. He added four assists, a blocked shot and a steal in 36 minutes.
"Before the game, I don't know what got into me," said Lee, who has battled through health issues all season. "All the sudden, I felt bouncy and was feeling it. I just came out and had a good game tonight."
Sullivan also had an excellent game. The 6-foot-7 junior had 15 points, on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 shooting from the free throw line. He added six rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes.
"Lewis Sullivan did a heckuva job tonight," said Ehsan said. "He made his free throws, played big, scored inside. I was really proud of Lewis."
Very little that UAB (17-11 overall, 8-7 C-USA) did in the first 20 minutes suggested that the Blazers were headed to a blowout victory. It wasn't that the Blazers played poorly in the first half, but 10 turnovers kept them from pulling away. Southern Miss (13-15 overall, 6-9 C-USA) did enough to take a 36-33 lead at the halftime break.
The game remained close for the first nine minutes of the second half. Southern Miss actually built the lead to five points on two different occasions. The complexion changed at the midway point when short buckets by Zack Bryant and Nick Norton tied the score at 57. Southern Miss regained the lead on two free throws, but the rest of the game belonged to the Blazers.
Bryant's drive to the bucket for a left-handed layup began a quick 8-0 spurt that was ended by two more Southern Miss free throws. Sullivan's short jumper started a 13-0 run that ended with UAB holding a 78-61 lead with 3:21 left in the game.
Put those five minutes together and UAB went on a 21-2 run that included 3-pointers by Jalen Perry, Norton and Nate Darling.
UAB was able to cruise to the victory from that point. Overall, UAB outscored Southern Miss, 30-10, over the final 8:35 of the game.
Bryant scored 15 second half points and also finished with four rebounds, three assists and just one turnover. His only points off the first half – a three-point play with 5:28 left before halftime carried historic significance. With those points, Bryant became UAB's single season leader for freshman scoring, eclipsing Demario Eddins record of 349 points, set in 2002-03. Bryant got a good start on extending that record in the second half.
Perry also had a big hand in the big second half. Perry struggled in the first half, turning the ball over three times and missing his lone shot in eight minutes. His second half production included eight points and two assists in 13 minutes.
For more information on UAB men's basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), Instagram (@UAB_MBB) and Snapchat (@UAB_MBB).
Team Stats
UAB
USM
FG%
.625
.424
3FG%
.563
.333
FT%
.857
.692
RB
33
23
TO
15
10
STL
4
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballForward
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