Feb. 11, 2003

Men's Basketball Contact: Aaron Jordan

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB men's basketball team (12-7, 4-4 C-USA) will play host to the Bulls of South Florida on Wednesday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m. in Bartow Arena. The Blazers defeated the Bulls on Jan. 8, 79-69, in Tampa, Fla. in the conference-opener for both teams.

The Bulls enter Wednesday's contest with an overall record of 12-8 and stand 5-4 in conference play - half a game ahead of the Blazers in second place of the National Division standings. The Bulls have been on a bit of a hot streak as of late, winning three straight contests. The Bulls' Will McDonald leads the team with 16.7 points and nine rebounds per contest. Jimmy Baxter is the only other Bull to average in double figure scoring, with 15.1 ppg. Senior point guard Reggie Kohn leads the conference in assists with 6.6 per game.

UAB will be looking to bounce back from a 71-66 home defeat at the hands of Tulane last Saturday. The Blazers are led by Mo Finley who is averaging 18.1 ppg. Newcomers Demario Eddins and Gabe Kennedy each average double figures with 10.3 and 10.2 ppg, respectively.

Wednesday's game marks the 49th meeting between the two rivals. The Blazers have played the Bulls more times than any other opponent in UAB basketball history. Last season, the teams met three times with each team winning on their respective home floors. The Bulls won by a score of 81-65 on Feb. 5, while UAB returned the favor, taking a 83-78 double overtime decision in Bartow Arena on Feb. 23. South Florida took the tiebreaker at the Conference USA tournament, defeating the Blazers 65-62 on March 6.

The game can be heard live on 1070 WAPI-AM, with the pregame show beginning at 6:30 p.m. Gary Sanders will handle play-by-play, Matt Coulter will be the color analyst and Jon Gentile will produce the broadcast. The postgame show will follow immediately after the game. The game can also be heard by accessing the UAB website (www.uabsports.com).