UAB Notches Overtime Road Win at Southern Miss, 76-72

Saturday, February 23

Hattiesburg, Miss.

2 p.m.

UAB

-1711, 96 CUSA

Southern Miss

-1710, 96 CUSA

OT 1

UAB

Southern Miss

UAB Notches Overtime Road Win at Southern Miss, 76-72

2/23/2019 5:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Senior forward Lewis Sullivan connected on a 3-pointer with six seconds left in the game to force overtime and the UAB men's basketball team outlasted the Golden Eagles in the extra period for a 76-72 victory at Reed Green Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

Sullivan finished 17 points and eight rebounds to lead UAB, while freshman Tavin Lovan scored a career-high 16 points, 14 of which came in the second half and overtime period.

The Blazers (17-11, 9-6 C-USA) have now won three straight road games and tallied a huge victory in the first of four C-USA Bonus Play games to draw even with Southern Miss (17-10, 9-6 C-USA) in the league standings.

UAB had four players in double figures as Jalen Perry and Zack Bryant each added 12 as the Blazers shot 59.2 percent for the game, its second-best shooting performance of the season. Tyreek Scott-Grayson also had an impact on the game with eight points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocks.

The Blazers had three early turnovers which allowed Southern Miss to gain a 9-6 lead at the first media timeout of the game. Turnovers continued to be an issue as seven TO's in the first eight minutes of the game allowed USM to race out to a 14-7 lead at the under 12-media timeout.

UAB settled down and a 7-0 run capped by a circus layup from Bryant tied the game at 14-14. The Golden Eagles scored the next five points, but UAB clawed back and a corner 3-pointer from Scott-Grayson tied the game at 21 with 4:12 left.

Southern Miss outscored UAB 8-5 down the stretch of the half to take a 29-25 lead into the locker room. Led by Bryant with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting, including a rim-rocking dunk, UAB was 47.6 percent from the floor. USM shot 40 percent in the first 20 minutes but was 6-of-7 at the line which helped the Golden Eagles build their halftime advantage.

Coach Ehsan had to call an early timeout in the second half after Tim Rowe hit a triple to increase Southern Miss' lead to 38-30, and the Golden Eagles lead 40-33 at the under-16 media timeout.

The Southern Miss lead grew to 10 with exactly 15 minutes to go, but the Blazers then used a 9-0 run, capped by a Tavin Lovan fast-break layup, to force USM into a timeout with 10:20 left and the score 43-42 in favor of the Golden Eagles.

The Blazers got within one on four different occasions, including 3-pointers from Scott-Grayson with 3:53 left (55-54) and Bryant with :44 left (62-61), but UAB was never able to take the lead in the second half.

After two free throws from USM's LaDavius Draine gave the Golden Eagles a 64-61 lead, the Blazers took a timeout with 19 seconds remaining. Out of that timeout, Bryant found Sullivan in front of the UAB bench and Sullivan's triple banked in to tie the game. Southern Miss had a final opportunity to win the game but Tyree Griffin's 3-point attempt hit the side of the rim as UAB headed into its second overtime game of the season.

Lovan took over in the overtime period and after Perry tied the game at 70 with 2:22 left, Lovan had back-to-back dunks created by Bryant to give UAB a 74-70 lead with :44 left, and the Blazers were able to hang on for the come-from-behind victory.

UAB was especially lights out in the second half, shooting 65.2 percent (15-of-23) and was 80 percent in overtime (4-of-5).

The Blazers now return home on Thursday, Feb. 28 to host WKU (16-12, 9-6) in another massive C-USA pod one battle. Tip is set for 6:30 p.m. on beIN Sports.