In what could have been the last game of his college career, UAB’s KJ Buffen had one of his worst performances in the conference tournament final and was not going to let it happen again on his team’s home court.

Buffen produced a solid line in the first half but took control of the paint in the second half punishing his way to the basket time and time again.

“I was confident in myself and that’s where the opening was in the defense,” Buffen said. “I took what they gave me and made the shots.”

The Blazers fell behind early to open the final stanza but Buffen ignited a 14-0 game-changing run to power ahead for an 88-60 victory over Southern Miss in the first round of the NIT, Tuesday, March 14, at Bartow Arena in Birmingham.

UAB improves to 26-9 overall – winning 13 of its last 15 games — and advances to the NIT second round following the win over the regular-season Sun Belt champions.

“To start the game, you could tell we were a little bit frayed,” UAB head coach Andy Kennedy said. “I worried about the emotional letdown of not finishing our goal. We started sluggish and challenged them at halftime to play up to the standard they established this year. In the second half, you saw that.”

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The Blazers finished shooting 47.9 percent overall, 30.4 percent from 3-point range (7-of-23), and were 13-for-18 at the charity stripe. UAB enjoyed a plus-16 edge in the rebounding battle and manhandled its way to a plus-32 advantage on inside scoring.

Southern Miss was 36.1 percent from the field, 33.3 percent on 3-pointers, and made 22 field goals off 20 assists, but gave up 24 turnovers that resulted in 30 points.

“We were great off our offensive glass and points in the paint plus-32, that’s the difference in the game,” Kennedy said. “We had to accept ‘attack, attack, attack’ and once we started doing that, then we took control of the game.”

Buffen produced his sixth double-double of the season, scoring a game-high 26 points on 11-of-21 shooting and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds, and scored 10 points during a 22-5 run midway through the second half. The senior had 11 points and six boards in the first half and turned it up after being challenged by Kennedy during the halftime break.

“In the conference tournament championship, I had a really bad game and didn’t score,” Buffen said. “He challenged me to respond and I didn’t want to have that taste in my mouth possibly being my last college game ever. I wanted to make sure that was the last taste I had in my mouth.”

The Blazers opened the game with a 3-pointer from Jordan “Jelly” Walker but fell behind 14-9 after the second media timeout of the half. Buffen kick-started a 17-8 run, allowing UAB to take a 26-22 lead with 6:04 remaining, but the Golden Eagles closed out on a 12-4 run in the final four minutes to trim the UAB advantage to 41-38 after the first half.

Southern Miss took its last lead of the game on consecutive 3-pointers in the first 1:16 of the second half and forced the final tie, 49-49, before the Blazers reasserted their dominance.

Buffen once more ignited a scoring run as the Blazers surged ahead on a 14-0 streak to claim a 14-point advantage more than midway through the second half. UAB built a 20-point lead on a 3-point play from Eric Gaines with 5:43 left in the game and finished off the Golden Eagles with a 13-2 run in the final four minutes.

Walker finished with 16 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals, followed by Trey Jemison with 14 points, six boards, and three blocks.

Ledarrius Brewer added 10 points, six rebounds and two steals.

“He had some injuries,” Kennedy said. “He’s finally rounding in. We were playing well with Tavin when we had that run and he (Brewer) was getting odd-man-out minutes.”

Ty Brewer had four points, five boards and two steals, and Gaines finished with five points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals. Tavin Lovan contributed six points and three boards.

The Blazers advance to face either No. 1 seed Clemson or Morehead State on either Saturday or Sunday, March 18-19, in the second round of the NIT.