GAME NOTES: The UAB Blazers try to run their win streak to four in a row on Thursday night, as they drop in on the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs for a Conference USA bout at the Thomas Assembly Center.

Playing in Ruston for the first time ever, the Blazers have matched Louisiana Tech in terms of league mark at 3-0, but the team is still two games under .500 overall. Last Saturday, the Blazers hosted FIU and crushed the Golden Panthers in a 70-53 final. With the victory, UAB entered the week tied with both Tech and Western Kentucky for the top spot in the C-USA standings.

As for the Bulldogs, they have the second-best overall record in the league behind only Old Dominion. Like the Blazers, Louisiana Tech has won all three games this month, four in a row overall, thanks to an 84-72 triumph over UTSA last Saturday.

UAB leads the all-time series by a count of 4-1, but after winning the first four encounters the Blazers suffered a 67-58 loss at home in the most recent clash last season.

The Blazers fell behind FIU by nine points in the first half and trailed by three at the break, 31-28, but turned it around in the second half at both ends of the floor in order to come away with the 17-point home win at Bartow Arena. The key to the victory was limiting the visitors to just eight field goals in the final 20 minutes of action, including 1-of-8 behind the 3-point line.

Spearheading the balanced offensive attack were Chris Cokley and Robert Brown with 12 points apiece, the former doing his damage in just 14 minutes off the bench as he converted all but one of his six field goal tries. Nick Norton accounted for 11 points and four assists as well.

UAB is not much of an offensive team these days, producing 65.6 ppg, while giving up 68.8 ppg. Brown is the top threat on a regular basis with his 13.3 ppg, although he has made just 64.2 percent of his free-throw tries and that pales in comparison to the team overall at 70.8 percent. C.J. Washington (8.7 ppg) accounts for 4.6 rpg, one of the top marks on the Blazers, but no one is pulling down even five rebounds per contest, which often hampers the program.

Louisiana Tech shot a modest 44.0 percent from the floor in the first half against the Roadrunners and then turned up the pressure with a sizzling 64.3 percent effort in the second half, including 7-of-11 behind the 3-point line, en route to the double-digit road win. Raheem Appleby scored a game-high 25 points as he connected on 5-of-9 shots out on the perimeter.

Also scoring in double figures for the visitors were Erik McCree and Alex Hamilton with 16 points apiece, the former pulling down nine rebounds, while Jacobi Boykins came off the bench to register 13 points in as many minutes thanks to a 4-of-5 performance from the outside.

Appleby can be a devastating offensive threat when all the pieces fall into place, averaging 17.9 ppg as he shoots 41.9 percent from behind the 3-point line. He has converted more than twice as many triples as his closest teammates, and as a unit Louisiana Tech is knocking down about eight shots per contest from distance. Hamilton (15.2 ppg) and McCree (11.3 ppg) have also shown the ability to lead, thanks to the efforts of Kenneth Smith (4.6 ppg) who is one of the nation's leaders with 119 assists.

Being on the road is bad enough, but now the Blazers have to go up against a Louisiana Tech program that is on a quest to be the best in the conference, and it is not about to let UAB get in the way.