GAME NOTES: The Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners will play host to the UAB Blazers in a Conference USA bout at the Convocation Center on Saturday afternoon.

UAB enters the tilt looking to rebound from Thursday's 71-69 setback at UTEP. That loss snapped a three-game win streak for the Blazers, who, despite their sub-.500 overall record, entered the weekend just one game behind C-USA leaders Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky in the standings. Following this contest, they will return home to face Louisiana Tech on Thursday.

Like the Blazers, UTSA has hovered around .500 for much of the season and actually has a higher winning percentage than UAB. But the Roadrunners have not fared quite as well against league foes and have split their last six games. However, they are coming off Thursday's 69-58 triumph over Middle Tennessee to improve to 4-4 in C-USA play.

These teams met for the first time ever last January in Birmingham, where UAB claimed a 78-65 victory.

Free-throw shooting was the difference in UAB's recent loss to UTEP, as the Miners had 28 more attempts at the charity stripe than the Blazers. Still, UAB got hot from the perimeter late in the game and was in position to win it, but freshman William Lee's 3-point attempt from the top of the key came up just short as time expired. Robert Brown finished with a team-high 16 points in the loss, followed by Hakeem Baster with 11 and Denzell Watts with 10.

Brown has been the team's top scorer on the season with 13.6 ppg. However, he is also the only one averaging double figures. After scoring 81 points in consecutive home games last week against Charlotte and Old Dominion, the Blazers came back down to Earth a bit offensively on the road Thursday.

UTSA has four players averaging double figures, and that quartet has started every game this season. Jeromie Hill leads the team in scoring (16.8) and rebounding (7.4), and his 36 3-pointers (.391) are second on the squad. Keon Lewis is next in line with 14.3 ppg, followed by sharpshooter Ryan Bowie (.400 from 3-point range) with 13.1 ppg and center Kaj-Bjorn Sherman (6.9 rpg) with 11.2 ppg.

The Roadrunners beat Middle Tennessee at home on Thursday, shooting 52.3 percent from the floor as a team while holding the Blue Raiders to 34.8- percent shooting. Sherman led all scorers with 20 points to go along with seven rebounds, and Hill turned in a double-double with 18 points and 12 boards. Hill also notched two blocks and a pair of steals.

This is a fairly even matchup on paper, although the Roadrunners have a few more scoring options and are playing on their home floor.