UAB Opens C-USA Bonus Play at Southern Miss on Saturday

Saturday, February 23

Hattiesburg, Miss.

2 p.m.

UAB

Southern Miss

UAB Opens C-USA Bonus Play at Southern Miss on Saturday

2/21/2019 5:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

UAB Gamenotes at Southern Miss Watch Live Stats

BIRMINGHAM - The UAB men's basketball team opens Conference USA Bonus Play this Saturday, Feb. 23, as the Blazers travel to Hattiesburg to take on Southern Miss. The game tips at 2 p.m. and can be seen on Watch Stadium/Facebook.

The Blazers (16-11, 8-6 C-USA) enter pod play as the 5-seed and take on 3-seeded Southern Miss (17-9, 9-5 C-USA), who is currently riding a six-game winning streak. Bonus Play is an extension of the regular season and the Blazers earned a spot in the top pod with two road wins last. UAB is one of five teams now able to compete for the regular season title along with ODU, WKU, Southern Miss and UTSA. UAB can be no lower than a 5-seed for the C-USA Tournament.

Who: UAB (16-11, 8-6 C-USA) at Southern Miss (17-9, 9-5 C-USA)
Where: Reed Green Coliseum - Hattiesburg, Miss.
When: 2 p.m. - February 23
Watch: Stadium/Facebook
On the Call: Noah Coslov (play-by-play), Tim Scarborough (analyst), Olivia Dekker (sideline)
Listen: WJOX2 100.5 FM
Series: UAB leads, 31-18
Last Meeting: Jan. 12, 2019: Southern Miss 73, UAB 68

UAB earned a spot in the top pod by winning two huge road games last week at Marshall (77-68) and WKU (68-60). Sophomore Makhtar Gueye (19/11) and Senior Lewis Sullivan (16/10) each had double-doubles against the Thundering Herd, while Zack Bryant dropped 24 on WKU and Freshman Tavin Lovan had his first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Bryant's 24-point outing was his fifth 20+ point performance of the year and the sixth of his career. Bryant is averaging 16.1 points per game in league play and is the team's leading scorer overall at 14.7 ppg.

Along with Bryant, Lewis Sullivan is also having an all-conference worthy season as the senior has scored double figures 20 times this year. He is the team's second leading scorer overall at 11.3 ppg and paces the team on the glass at 6.7. In C-USA action, he has increased that to 12.4 ppg and 7.1 rpg.

Head Coach Robert Ehsan made a change to the starting lineup on the two-game road trip and it paid dividends. Redshirt junior Anderson McCoy was inserted into the starting five, and the Blazers responded by going 2-0. McCoy scored three points total in 26 minutes of action, but brought new energy to the team that featured the same starting lineup for 15 games prior and helped UAB snap a four-game losing streak.

As mentioned, the Golden Eagles are on a six-game winning streak and are 8-2 since the Blazers last visited Reed Green Coliseum. In USM's last game, the Golden Eagles led UTEP 54-12 at halftime.

In January's meeting between UAB and USM, the game featured 28 lead changes and 14 ties. Sullivan led the Blazers with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Following the game at Southern Miss, the Blazers return home to host No. 2 WKU on Thursday, Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m. Click here for tickets or call 205-975-UAB1.