After a 6-0 run by Southern Mississippi (13-10, 6-6 SBC) cut UB’s (14-8, 7-4 MAC) lead to 3 points with 7:07 left in the third quarter, the Bulls needed a response.
They got one in the form of a three-pointer from sophomore guard Hattie Ogden, who kicked off a 17-6 run for the Bulls to close out the period. UB led by as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter en route to their second four-game win streak of the season.
The Bulls won 62-46 over Southern Miss at Alumni Arena on Saturday, keeping UB in the top half of the Mid-American conference (MAC) standings before the playoffs. It was their tenth home victory of the season, the most in the MAC.
Equally important to that victory was senior guard Rana Elhusseini, who stole the show with a triple-double of 11 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, the third ever in program history. Elhusseini was the only player on the court for all 40 minutes.
The first half was tight, but the Bulls managed to squeeze out a 4-point lead heading into halftime. Both teams struggled to shoot the ball, combining for three makes on 25 three-point attempts. Southern Miss struggled at the charity stripe in the opening 20 minutes, shooting 1-for-6 from the free throw line.
Continuing a season-long trend, UB turned up the heat in the second half,converting 15 of their 26 shot attempts. The Bulls got out in transition more in the second half, leading to the bulk of their 14 fast break points while limiting South Miss to 3. UB also locked in defensively, holding the Golden Eagles without a made three-pointer in the final 20 minutes.
The Bulls will next face the Akron Zips (8-14, 3-8 MAC) away on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
Henry Daley is an assistant sports editor and can be reached at henry.daley@ubspectrum.com
Henry Daley is an assistant sports editor at The Spectrum. His work has featured on other platforms such as Medium and Last Word on Sports. Outside of the newspaper, he enjoys running and watching sports (when he’s not writing about them).
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
