University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Men's Hoops Takes to Road to Face UAB
2/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2012
| Watch LIVE! 
| Listen LIVE! 
| Tip: 7:00 p.m. CT
USM Game Notes in PDF Format 
| UAB Game Notes in PDF Format
Southern Miss and UAB will meet for the 38th time overall, with the Blazers holding a 23-14 advantage. In Birmingham, UAB holds a 13-4 lead, but the Golden Eagles snapped a three-game losing streak last year in Birmingham, 75-71. Earlier this year, Southern Miss defeated the Blazers, 59-55, in Hattiesburg.
Southern Miss enters Wednesday night's contest with a 20-3 record, and 7-1 in Conference USA. The Golden Eagles defeated Memphis, 75-72, last Wednesday. It was the first win over Memphis since 2004.
Darnell Dodson led the Golden Eagles with 23 points and six rebounds. Neal Watson scored 17 points and had six assists and LaShay Page recorded his first career double-double, scoring 12 points and pulling down a game and career-high 10 points.
Dodson is scoring 13.3 points while pulling down 5.6 rebounds. Page is second on the team with 12.8 points. He is also second in the league in three-pointers made (2.7) and is sixth in three-point field goal percentage (.373).
Watson is adding 11.5 points while connecting on 88.6% of his free throws, which leads C-USA. He is also tied for third in assists (4.5). Maurice Bolden is scoring 10.6 points while grabbing a team-high 5.8 rebounds. He is also 10th in the league with 1.3 blocks per game. Angelo Johnson is also scoring 9.7 points and is 10th in the conference with 3.3 assists.
As a team, Southern Miss is scoring 72.3 points and is allowing just 62.3. The Golden Eagles are hitting 42.1-percent of their shots and 37.2% of their three-pointers. Their opposition is connecting on 42.1% from the field and 34.0-percent from behind the arc. The Golden Eagles hold the advantage on the boards, as they are outrebounding their opponents 37.4-to-31.7, a difference of 5.8 per game, good for third on Conference USA. The Golden Eagles are also leading the league in free throw percentage (.754).
Head coach Larry Eustachy is in his eighth season at the helm of the Southern Miss men's basketball program. He has compiled a 137-107 (.561) record during his time as head coach. In 21 years, Eustachy has an overall record of 397-252 (.612).
UAB comes into Wednesday night's game with a 9-13 record, 4-5 in C-USA. The Blazers have won two straight after defeating UTEP, 61-60, Saturday night.
Sophomore forward Jordan Swing led UAB with 19 points on five three-pointers. Sophomore guard Preston Purifoy scored 12 points and senior forward Cameron Moore recorded his ninth double-double of the year, scoring 11 points and pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds while also blocking six shots.
The Blazers are led by Moore with 15.9 points and 10.7 rebounds, which are fifth and second in the conference, respectively. He also leads C-USA in blocks (2.9) and minutes played (36.6). Swing is second on the team with 11.5 points. He is also second in Conference USA in free throw percentage (.867) and third in three-point field goal percentage (.416). Junior guard Ovie Soko is adding 8.8 points and 7.1 rebounds.
As a team, UAB is scoring just 59.7 points per game. But they are third in the conference by allowing just 61.2. UAB is shooting 42.2-percent from the floor while allowing their opponents to connect on 41.2-percent. The Blazers are pulling down 34.8 boards per game, while allowing 32.4. The Tigers are also connecting on 35.2-percent of its three-point attempts while holding its opposition to hit 35.5%.
Head coach Mike Davis is in his sixth season at the helm of the UAB men's basketball program. He has compiled a 116-70 (.624) record as its head coach. In 12 years as a head coach, Davis owns a 231-149 (.608) record.
