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Bush sets Conference USA single season steals record

Bush sets Conference USA single season steals record
Former Barton County Community College All-American Eric Bush put himself in the Conference USA basketball records books during his University of Alabama-Birmingham's run through the NIT post season tournament. The Blazers season ended a loss to St. John, one game short of the NIT semifinals.

Bush, a senior at UAB, set a record for most steals in a season for Conference USA by swiping his 101st steal in the Blazers win over Siena. Bush also had 15 points in the win. In the loss to St. John, Bush ended the contest with 23 points, hitting 10-of-15 shots from the field. He ended the season with 105 steals.

Bush was well known for his thefts while at Barton County as well. The Anderson, Indiana-native holds the Cougars single-season mark for steals when he snagged a staggering 205 during the 1999-2000 season. That was good for 6.0 steals per contest. The following year, Bush swiped 114 steals, 3rd on the single season chart. That gave him 319 for his career at Barton, more than double that of 2nd place LaKeith Humphrey. Bush averaged 4.6 steals per game at Barton. He had single games of 11, 10, and 10 steals during his time at Barton.

Bush is also still the all-time leader in assists with 533 (7.7) as well as the single season leader in that category as well with 311 (9.1).

Bush, who averaged just under 10 points a game for the Blazers this season, found high gear in the post season. He helped lead the No. 8 seeded Blazers to a pair of upset wins in the Conference USA post season tournament, including a win over top seed Marquette in the quarterfinals. In that game Bush had 17 points, 5 assists and 6 steals. Those 6 steals set a Conference USA tournament record. UAB was beaten in the title game of the Conference USA tournament by Louisville.

Bush was in double figures in every post season game averaging 17.3 points per game, 3.3 assists, 3.1 steals, and 4.8 rebounds during the Conference USA and the NIT.

Ebi Ere
Former Cougar Ebi Ere also played well in the post season for the Oklahoma Sooners, who came up one game short of a trip to the NCAA Final Four. Ere was key in the Sooners final win, scoring 25 points in the Sooners 65-54 win over Butler in the Sweet 16. Ere, a senior and a key member of last year Final Four team at OU, broke a bone in his left hand prior to the Big XII tournament but did not miss a game for the Sooners. Ere was the 2nd leading scorer for the Sooners this season, averaging 13 points a contest.

Jason Carter
Another former Cougar played in the NIT as well as Jason Carter and Hawaii advanced to the 2nd round of the tournament. Hawaii opened with an 85-68 win over UNLV in which Carter scored 9 points. Minnesota ended the Rainbows runs with an 80-74 2nd round win. Carter did not score in the loss. Carter, a junior, averaged 5 points per game for the Rainbows this season. His season high was 15 points at Boise State.

 

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