The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Global Sports
UAB Men's Basketball Wins Exhibition Opener
11/2/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 2, 2001
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -
Four UAB players scored in double figures, led by guard P.J. Arnold with 18 points and forward Eric Batchelor with 16 as the Blazers defeated the Global Sports All-Stars 76-61 in college basketball exhibition play Friday evening at Bartow Arena.
Arnold and Batchelor were joined in double figures by forward Myron Ransom with 13 points and guard Jeffery Collins with 12.? Ransom was playing his first game in over a year after missing the entire 2000-01 season with a knee injury.? Guard Mo Finley also made his first appearance since the 1999-2000 season, Finley missed all of last year with a back injury.
Batchelor scored eight points in the first period and hit a three-point basket with 5:50 remaining that started a 17-5 run and propelled the Blazers to a 37-25 halftime lead.
UAB built its lead steadily in the second half, with its largest margin of the night, 73-53, coming with 5:37 remaining in the game.? Arnold scored 14 of his 18 in the second period.
UAB Head Coach Murry Bartow was pleased with the win but saw plenty of room for improvement for his team, which has five new players.
"We're optimistic, but we have a long way to go," he? said following Friday's game.
"Defensively, I've got some real concerns.? Offensively, obviously we've got a few more guys that can put the ball in the basket than we had a year ago.? If you look at tonight's stats, Will (Campbell) and Mo only scored two points, and they're two guys that we're really going to depend on to score, but we still had four guys in double figures. So we've got more options offensively.? I don't think our conditioning is what it needs to be and our defense is not what it needs to be.? I thought we had some nice possessions where we really moved the ball, but we've still got a lot of work to do."
The Blazers play their second exhibition game Tuesday, Nov. 6 vs. the Double Pump All-Stars. Tipoff is set for 7:30 pm CST at Bartow Arena.
