The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Saint Louis
Men's Basketball Falls To St. Louis, 53-47
2/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 19, 2002
By R.B. FALLSTROM
AP Sports Writer
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Marque Perry had 17 points and five rebounds and hit five free throws in the final 1:23 as Saint Louis rebounded from one of its worst games of the season with a 53-47 victory over UAB Tuesday night.
Josh Fisher added 10 points for Saint Louis (12-15, 6-7 Conference USA). The Billikens built a 10-point second-half lead and then hung on at the end, winning despite making only two baskets in the final 11:06.
UAB, down 40-30 with 8:54 to go, tied it at 44 on a 15-footer by Will Campbell with 2:45 remaining. Morris Finley had six points in the 14-4 run.
Jason Edwin put Saint Louis back in front with a jumper from the lane 24 seconds later and UAB got no closer than two points the rest of the way. The Billikens were 7-for-8 from the line in the last 1:23, the lone miss coming from Perry with 4.8 seconds to go and the game settled.
Saint Louis was 15-for-21 at the line overall, UAB 9-for-15.
Saint Louis shot only 31 percent and scored 13 points in the first half of a 60-40 loss to Georgia Tech, also at home, on Saturday. Coach Lorenzo Romar gave the team a day off on Sunday to think about that loss and they responded, shooting 46 percent to beat UAB for the third straight time.
Myron Ransom had 11 points and eight rebounds for UAB (11-15, 4-9), which has lost three straight and four of five. Campbell added 10 points and five rebounds but Morris Finley, who had been averaging 17 points the last three games, was held to nine.
Saint Louis got the last two baskets of a tightly played first half for a 22-17 lead. Perry, who had 10 points in the half, lost the ball and then got it back in time to connect with one second to go.
