Preston Purifoy! AU gets it done from 20 down; Tide in huge game

Freshman Preston Purifoy sank the biggest trifecta in the Mike Davis tenure last night with four seconds left to lead the Blazers to an amazing 67-66 victory over a tough Southern Miss squad as the Blazers clinched at least a tie of the Conference USA regular season title with their remarkable effort and victory. The Blazers moved to 21-7 overall and 11-4 in C-USA. They moved closer and  closer to an NCAA tourney bid. A win Saturday at home against East Carolina and maybe a victory in the tournament will get them in. They may only need to win Saturday’s game to earn a bid, but a win Saturday and a win next week in the tourney would get them in most likely. Though knowing this hard working, driven group of players, they want to win the regular season and the conference tourney title which will be held in El Paso starting next Wednesday.
I’m so happy for Mike Davis and Brian Mackin. Both men have worked hard to make this basketball program the best it could be. Really happy for my friend BMac, who has given his heart and soul to the program as Athletics Director and deserved this so much. Davis has been on the cusp of success at UAB and last night’s shot by Preston was like Divine Intervention. It was truly specatacular.

It looked like a busted out of bounds play with 12 seconds left as the inbounds pass to Aaron Johnson, one of the guttiest players in the country, was lobbed and almost knocked away by the Southern Miss defender. Johnson retrieved it and hustled up to the front court. He  saw Purifoy open on the right side. He dished to him and Purifoy didn’t hesitate. My cousin Craft O’Neal, the most avid and dedicated Blazers’ fan I know, had told me that Preston was a terrific shooter and Coach Davis thought he might be the best shooter on the team. There wasn’t any doubt after Preston launched the 24 footer–definitely an NBA three–with a man literally in his face. The shot was highly contested. It was a high arching shot and landed right in the middle of the rim and fell through. It was a beautiful shot. My nephew Edward O was going berserk!

There were three seconds on the clock, but the refs added another full second on the clock. Craft texted me, close to a heart attack–I feel your pain cousin, I’m a Vandy fan– about what would transpire when Southern Miss got the ball. The Golden Eagles called timeout, then inbounded it from just behind the half court line. The Blazers put incredible pressure on Gary Flowers when he got the ball and he walked. The Blazers ran out the clock. It didn’t get any better than that.

Jamarr Sanders lit it up in the second half. He scored 18 second half points. If Jamarr can really toughen up his game, he could get on an NBA roster. Cam Moore looked great scoring 12 and pulling down 11 rebounds. He could be an All-American player before he’s done at UAB. Ovie Soko played so hard, was four-of-four from the field, and, correct me if I’m wrong Blazers’ fans, but I thought he made the hustle play of the game in the second half diving for a loose ball that was going out of bounds and saving it to Johnson that kept the Blazers momentum going. Aaron Johnson was Aaron Johnson. If an NBA team doesn’t take a chance on Johnson, they’re crazy in my opinion. He’s just a winner. AJ had 14 assists and just one turnover. He’s an amazing player. Other guys like Anthony Criswell (four points, five boards), Qunicy Taylor, Dexter Fields and Preston all stepped up. If we can get our three-point shooting improved and get our free throw shooting back to where it was before this game–we were about a 70 percent shooting team before last night’s disastrous 4-of-14–we’ve got a shot to do some good things this month.

What a great effort. Craft told me this team is a great group of guys who want to do well. They, Mike Davis and Brian Mackin should be commended for a job well done. We’ve got to get out and support the guys on Saturday. They’ve played hard all season and deserve a packed house Saturday. This team is bringing UAB basketball to the heights that Mike Anderson and Gene Bartow brought them to. The program is on the rise. It’s an exciting time to be a Blazer.

AU had another amazing comeback victory last night. Down 20 in the first half, the Tigers came back to win 76-73 at Auburn Arena. The Tigers are now 10-19 overall and 3-12 in conference. That doesn’t sound great, but the improvement of this club in Tony Barbee’s first year has been amazing. These Tigers just play so hard. They came back from 19 down a couple of weeks ago at the Arena to defeat Ms. State. Kenny Gabriel finished with 24 and Rob Chubb made some huge plays down the stretch last night.

Very impressed with what Tony Barbee has done. The Tigers are blue collar to the core and that’s a major compliment. They are  a testament to their coach, who has never given up on them. I think the future is bright under Tony. Frankie Sullivan will be back next year, these players, most of whom are coming back, will have a year under their belt, there are two fine transfers who will play next year and a nice group of freshmen coming in. Excited about the Tigers.

‘Bama in a must win situation on Saturday. Have to beat Georgia and probably need to win one or two in the conference tourney. RPI is not great, but they had been playing great in conference until the last couple games. Need to rebound from the Florida game. Just have to shoot the ball better and get back to playing the defense they’ve been playing most of the conference season. Charvez Davis, Trevor Releford and Andrew Steele have to make some outside shots to open it up for Tony Mitchell and JaMychal Green inside. Mitchell could help from the perimeter, also. The Tide was on the verge of a special season. Maybe they can recapture that on Saturday.

Basketball is getting better and better in this state. We need to get out and support our teams. The effort is there and the results are starting to validate the hard work these coaches and players have put in to their programs.

(Preston Purifoy was big time last night.),