Career-High Scoring by Draine, Watson Fuel Golden Eagles to Win at UAB

Thursday, January 23

Birmingham, AL

7 p.m. CT

Southern Miss

-614, 43 CUSA

UAB

-128, 34 CUSA

Southern Miss

UAB

Career-High Scoring by Draine, Watson Fuel Golden Eagles to Win at UAB

1/23/2020 10:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats (PDF)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Southern Miss shot 68 percent in the second half, LaDavius Draine (28 points) and Gabe Watson (27) collected career-highs, and the Golden Eagles earned their second-straight win with an 84-77 decision at UAB on Thursday.

Southern Miss (6-14, 2-5 C-USA) had fallen five-straight times in Bartow Arena, and this marked the team's first win there since Feb. 25, 2011. The Blazers were 8-2 at home heading into the night, and this was the Golden Eagles' first road/neutral win of the season.

Draine and Watson also became the first 25-point scorers in the same game since Jeremy Wise and Courtney Beasley versus UAB on March 12, 2009 in the C-USA Quarterfinals (Memphis).

"I really thought we played smart on both ends of the floor," head coach Jay Ladner said. "UAB has an outstanding team and turned the pressure on late. A little bit of it may have been fatigue. We had several opportunities for offensive rebounds, let them get to the line and they made some big threes. I thought that overall, we can pick apart each game, but our guys played hard and rose up."

"A lot of people have the tendency to count our guys out, and this was very satisfying. That's a significant win for Southern Miss."

Southern Miss led 36-30 at the half, then after a UAB turnover started things off, Draine connected on a three. The Golden Eagles stretched it to 53-40 at 13:18 and took their largest lead, 62-46, at 9:42.

Tyler Stevenson's short jumper at 4:48 made it 73-59, and the Blazers got within 75-70 at 1:31 thanks to a 9-for-9 stretch at the foul line. Watson shot-faked at the top of the key before lofting a straightaway teardrop that pushed the lead to 77-70 at 1:01.

Draine and Leonard Harper-Baker answered the call on back-to-back possessions with two free-throws apiece to keep it an 81-74 game in the final 33 seconds, and a Blazer three on the ensuing possession was all they would get from there.

"I thought they both did a great job keeping us under control," Ladner said. "We never got rattled. One of the things it takes to win on the road was controlling the tempo, and I thought we did a great job at that the first 35 minutes. It's funny to mention those guys as elder statesmen, but they're sophomores and juniors and that's the nature of the team. They looked like true veterans, and I was proud of them."

The Blazers (12-8, 3-4 C-USA) were led by Jalen Benjamin and his 29 points, which included six triples.

Southern Miss will aim for its third consecutive win when it heads to Middle Tennessee. Saturday's tip-off is set for 5 p.m. CT.

NOTABLE
-This was the 51st meeting between the two schools, with UAB leading 32-19.
-Southern Miss' 17-for-25 shooting in the second (68 percent) was its highest in a half this season.
-The two teams combined to go 33-for-36 (91.2 percent) at the foul line. Southern Miss (16-for-18) has been over 80 percent in six of its seven C-USA games.
-Southern Miss used just seven players, the second time it's done so this year (also at South Alabama on Nov. 9).
-LaDavius Draine (28 points) surpassed 20 for the fifth time in his career and third this season (Texas Tech, Tougaloo). He is averaging 18.8 ppg in four meetings with UAB.
-Gabe Watson (27 points) has four, 20-point games this year, all on the road (Texas Tech, Louisiana Tech, UTEP).
-Watson's four three-pointers (eight attempts) tied a career-high also set at SMU last year in his second collegiate game.
-Draine and Tyler Stevenson (12 points) each finished one rebound shy of a double-double.
-Draine is now 15-for-15 on free-throws in the calendar year and is at 84.2 percent on the season.
-Draine has 150 triples for the year and is 14 away from tying Neil Watson (2011-14) for No. 3 all-time at the school.
-The duo each went the full 40 minutes, the second time in their careers they've done so (also at Texas Tech).
-Artur Konontsuk made his 10th start of the year and first since Dec. 4 versus Tulane. His 28 minutes were also his most since Nov. 27 against Gonzaga.