TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Blake Sims passed for two touchdowns and rushed for a third in three quarters and might have staked his claim as No. 3 Alabamas undisputed starting quarterback in a 52-12 victory over Southern Miss on Saturday night. Sims was 12-of-17 passing for 168 yards for the Crimson Tide (3-0) ahead of the teams Southeastern Conference opener against Florida. Jake Coker didnt come in until late in the third quarter against the Golden Eagles (1-2), who have lost 25 of their last 27 games. Most of Sims completions went to the nations leading receiver, Amari Cooper. Cooper had eight catches for 135 yards and a touchdown to tie DJ Halls school record of five consecutive 100-yard games set in 2006. Kenyan Drake scored three touchdowns and produced 59 yards on nine rushes. Sims also ran five times for 46 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown. Coker did open by leading Alabama on a 99-yard scoring drive. Nick Mullens completed 19 of 35 passes for 207 yards to lead Southern Miss. Corey Acosta had field goals of 33, 43, 37 and 30 yards to account for all the points by Southern Miss. Alabama outgained the Golden Eagles 547-263 in total yards, allowing just 56 rushing yards. The Tide ran for 333 yards, led by Derrick Henrys 11 carries for 73 yards. Cooper accounted for 108 of Sims 123 passing yards in the first half. He moved past Ozzie Newsome into the Tides No. 3 spot for career receiving yards. Coker got into the game with 2:10 left in the third quarter with Alabama at the 1. He completed all three of his attempts for 36 yards before Drake scampered 29 yards for his third touchdown and a 42-9 lead. Coker finished 5-of-7 passing for 46 yards. His third-down sack forced Alabama to settle for a 30-yard Adam Griffith field goal. The Florida State transfer and Sims had battled through preseason camp and split time in a rout of Florida Atlantic. Sims played all but the final minutes of the opening win against West Virginia and didnt leave this one until it was well in hand either. Southern Miss scored field goals on its first and last drive of the opening half, but managed just 4 yards in the second quarter. Two of Acostas kicks were set up by Alabama mistakes. Tyler Sarrazins punt bounced off Alabamas Tyren Jones, giving the Golden Eagles the ball at the 29. They couldnt get anywhere but Acosta got them three points, and he added the 37-yarder in the third quarter on a drive kept alive by safety Nick Perrys targeting flag on a third-down incompletion. Perry will miss the first half of the Florida game. He posted an apology to Alabama fans on his Twitter page before the quarter was done, saying that "My boys will take care of business." Steve Francis Jersey . Team officials travelled to Los Angeles on Thursday night to meet with the free agent, a person with knowledge of the plans said. Clyde Drexler Rockets Jersey . Wayne and Cindy Tuck of Ilderton, Ont., closed out round-robin play earlier in the day with a 7-3 win over Finland but needed a win over Austria to reach the final eight. https://www.rocketsrookiesshop.com/Pj-Tu...Edition-Jersey/. Amid a rain of confetti, Shabazz Napier basked in the celebration on the court after being named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four following the 60-54 win over Kentucky. Brandon Knight Rockets Jersey . -- All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham and the New Orleans Saints met Tuesday for arbitration on his contract. Clint Capela Jersey . Fognini won 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 after Argentinas Carlos Berlocq had beaten Andreas Seppi 4-6, 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 on the outdoor clay surface. Doubles are set for Saturday with reverse singles on Sunday to decide which team reaches the quarterfinals.OAKLAND, Calif. - Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson sat on the scorers table at Oracle Arena on Wednesday morning. He gazed around the building and tried to envision what it will look and sound like when the Warriors host the Los Angeles Clippers for Game 3 of their first-round playoff series Thursday night. A gold-shirt wearing sellout crowd of 19,596. Roars so loud that, at times, they drown out whistles. The sights and sounds all embodying the spirit of the teams post-season motto: "Loud. Proud. Warriors." "Its going to be a great environment," Jackson said. "But with that being said, they wont get a stop, they wont get a score, they wont make a free throw. Weve got to do our part." The Warriors will indeed need to regain more than their homecourt prowess if they want to pull off another upset in the first round of the playoffs. They need to rediscover their game. Blake Griffin and the Clippers crushed Golden State 138-98 in Los Angeles on Monday night to even the best-of-seven series at a game apiece. The third-seeded Clippers showed just why most had picked them to beat the sixth-seeded Warriors, coming back from a foul-filled opener with an all-around game that wouldve worked in any venue. In Game 1, Griffin had 16 points and three rebounds in 19 minutes before he fouled out. The All-Star forward regrouped to score a career playoff-high 35 points in Game 2. He shot 13 of 17 from the floor, made 9 of 10 free throws and grabbed six rebounds — doing it all in just 30 minutes. The Clippers forced 26 turnovers, shutdown streaky shooting Stephen Curry most of the game and took advantage of the absence of Warriors centre Andrew Bogut — who is out indefinitely with a fractured right rib. "We realized that if we played our game and do the things that we worked on wed be successful," Griffin said. "We play well when were just playing free, so were just going to try and achieve that." Whether the Clippers caan duplicate that performance on the road is another matter.dddddddddddd For all the success Los Angeles has had in recent seasons, the twice-reigning Pacific Division champions have struggled at Oracle Arena. The Clippers have lost 15 of their last 17 games in Oakland, including the last five meetings. And they have never played at Golden State in the playoffs, when the crowd often reaches even higher decibels. "Its going to be loud. Its going to be exciting. I think every basketball player loves playing in an environment like that," Griffin said. "Weve played in places that are pretty loud before, especially in the playoffs. Ive heard good things about the crowd and were looking forward to it. Absolutely." Of course, home court has not always been an advantage for the Warriors this season. The Warriors went 27-14 at home, including 2-0 against the Clippers, but they had several head-scratching setbacks in Oakland. That included home losses to lesser teams such as Denver (twice), Cleveland, Minnesota, New York, Washington and Charlotte. Golden State has taken advantage of its home court its last two trips to the playoffs. The Warriors are a combined 6-0 at Oracle Arena in the first round in 2007 against Dallas and last season against Denver. "Hearing the roar of the crowd making a big play, it gets you hyped, it gets you feeling good," Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson said. "It definitely wont hurt being home." Game 4 and Game 6, if necessary, also will be in Oakland — where the Warriors promise to make things tougher for the Clippers than they ever did in Game 2. "Were not going to quit. Were not going to just lie down and allow a team to do what they want against us," Curry said. "Were going to be physical, come back and its about that competitive fire for Game 3 that were going to need to get it done to protect our home court." ___ Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP ' ' '