Ovie Soko returned to the UAB lineup on Wednesday night after missing Monday's game because of a hurt toe.
More importantly, though, Soko returned to form for the first time in a while in UAB's 67-53 Conference USA victory over SMU before a Bartow Arena crowd of 4,113.
"Coach (Mike) Davis, he just had a few words for me," Soko said. "He just told me to keep confident and play with energy and don't overthink things too much. I just tried to play loose."
Whatever he did, it worked well. The 6-foot-8 sophomore scored 12 points and added a rebound and two steals in 27 minutes. It was the first time in four games that he reached double digits in scoring and only the second time he did that in the past nine games.
Not a bad day's work for a guy who couldn't play on Monday and was questionable for Wednesday's game.
"(Tuesday), I wasn't sure if I would be able to play because the doctor wasn't able to get me in until after practice," Soko said. "It was pretty sore yesterday but I got up today and the medicine worked wonders."
The London native also had some extra inspiration with the surprise visit of his father, Raymond.
Davis said it was important to have Soko back contributing to the win.
"We need for him to be a really good basketball player for us to be a really good basketball team," Davis said. "He hadn't played well lately but tonight was a good start for him."
It was also a good night for several other Blazers.
Jamarr Sanders wasn't as hot from the field as he was Monday night in Greenville, when he hit 6-of-7 3-pointers. But the 6-foot-5 junior still scored a gamehigh 22 points and made four 3-pointers.
"My teammates did an excellent job just looking for me when I'm open," said Sanders, who is averaging 23 points the past seven games. "When those guys have confidence in me like that, it makes my job a lot easier just shooting the ball. Them having confidence in me makes me more confident also."
Aaron Johnson had 14 points, four rebounds, three steals and four assists with just one turnover. Cameron Moore had 12 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots.
SMU head coach Matt Doherty, whose team beat Memphis last week, came way impressed.
"To me, you could make a case that UAB is the best team in the league," said Doherty, whose team fell to 10-8 overall and 1-3 in conference play. "Sanders is an unbelievable guard and when you put he and Aaron Johnson in the backcourt together, that may be the best backcourt that we'll see all year."
Another key part of the win for the Blazers was an off night by SMU's dangerous duo of Papa Dia and Robert Nyakundi. Dia finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds but he was 6-of-21 from the field and committed three turnovers.
"He's a lot better basketball player than that but I'm glad he went 6-for-21 tonight," said Davis, whose team led 34-25 at halftime.
Nyankundi, the top 3-point shooter in the conference, was 3-of-8 overall from the field, 0-of-3 on 3-pointers and finished with six points. It was the first time in 14 games that he didn't score at least 15 points.
UAB kept pace toward the top of the C-USA standings with the win. The Blazers improved to 13-4 overall and 3-1 in C-USA play. The Blazers are in a four-way tie for first place with UTEP, Memphis and Houston.
Now the Blazers turn their focus toward Saturday night's visit from Memphis, which has a nine-game winning streak over the Blazers.
"You really can't call it a rivalry because we haven't got a win yet," Sanders said. "You got to come in with the mindset that we've got to get them. We haven't beat them so we have something to prove."
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THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS
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