BIRMINGHAM – Jalen Benjamin scored a career-high 29 points, but UAB’s second half comeback came up short as they fell to Southern Miss 84-77 on Thursday night at Bartow Arena.
Benjamin finished the night making 9-of-18 shots from the field including six from beyond the arc. Tavin Lovan and Tyreek Scott-Grayson added 14 and 10 points respectively for the Blazers (12-8, 3-4 C-USA).
LaDavius Draine led all scorers with 28 points and Gabe Watson contributed 27 for the Eagles (6-14, 2-5 C-USA).
After falling behind by five points in the first half, UAB went on a 12-3 run to take a 17-13 lead at the 12-31 mark. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Benjamin gave the Blazers its largest lead of the game, six points at 27-21 with 5:39 left. UAB would only get one more field goal the rest of the half as Southern Miss took a 36-30 advantage into halftime.
The Eagles would take a lead as large as 16 points in the second half after Tyler Stevenson hit two consecutive jumpers to make the score 62-46 with 9:42 remaining.
However, the Blazers did not quit and made it a single-digit game after a Lovan and-1 made the score 73-64 with 3:35 left.
UAB made it a two-possession game when Scott-Grayson and Makhtar Gueye each hit a pair of free throws to get the Blazers within five points at 75-70 with 1:31 to go. A Benjamin 3-pointer with 20.7 seconds left made the score 81-77 with 27 seconds remaining, but the Blazers had a turnover and a missed shot on its next two possession as USM made three foul shots in the final 26 seconds.
“Offensively, we did good enough things to win tonight, but Southern Miss kept making shots and that really deflated us, especially in the second half,” said head coach Robert Ehsan.
The Eagles finished shooting 68 percent in the second half, making 17-of-25 field goal attempts and 56 percent for the game, 30-of-54.
“Jalen was really comfortable and played well offensively and he got us going on that run. It’s good to see him shooting the ball like he’s capable of.”
Benjamin’s six 3-pointers was also a career-high. This was his second 20-point game and ninth double-figure game this season.
“LA Tech is really deep and athletic. They’re healthy and are one of the top 35 most experienced teams in the country and they’ve played well this season.”
The Blazers remain at home to host LA Tech on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Bulldogs (14-5, 5-2 C-USA) defeated Middle Tennessee 80-73 earlier this evening. Fans can purchase four upper reserved seats only for $40. Enter promo code: FAMILY here.
Single game tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking here or by calling the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at 205-975-UAB1. Discounted group tickets and fan experiences are available for a minimum purchase of 20 tickets. To inquire about group tickets for the 2019-20 season, please contact Chris Curtis at (205) 934-3172 or ccurtis2@uab.edu.
Along with single game and group tickets which are already on sale, fans now have the option to purchase a four-game mini plan which offers the flexibility of attending any four Conference USA games at Bartow Arena for only $40 in the upper level. The C-USA Pick 4 Mini Plan can be purchased by clicking here or by calling the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at 205-975-UAB1
