Southern Miss (13-15, C-USA 6-9) concluded its homestand Saturday with a lost against UAB (17-11, C-USA 8-7), 87-69. After winning nine straight games at home, the loss gave Southern Miss its third consecutive loss at home.
The Blazers shooting proved to be too much for the Golden Eagles as they shot over 50 percent in both halves. Southern Miss came close to breaking that 50 percent mark but fell short as they shot 46 percent in the first half and 37 percent in the second half.
“You could say we scored some points, but we didn’t shoot the ball as well as we have in the past,” Head Coach Doc Sadler said. “We got to the free-throw line a little bit in the second half when we were struggling, but 13 attempts is still not enough. We need to get in the 20s.”
Southern Miss held the lead early in the second half but an abundance of scoring droughts doomed their chances. UAB took full advantage of the Golden Eagles struggles as they took an 18-point lead with a little over a minute left, 84-66.
“Effort should always be a given,” Saddler said. “But we didn’t make adjustments defensively and [we] need to learn that whether it’s the first or second half, if you can’t step it up defensively, you will fall short.”
Southern Miss looks to find its way back to .500 with a Thursday game at UTSA and a Saturday game at UTEP.
