The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
South Florida
Blazers Fall To South Florida, 65-62
3/6/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 6, 2002
CINCINNATI (AP) - Altron Jackson scored 19 points, including a 3-pointer that gave South Florida the lead for good, and the Bulls held on to beat Alabama-Birmingham 65-62 in the first round of the Conference USA tournament Wednesday night.
Jackson's shot gave South Florida a 61-59 lead. Jackson and Greg Brittian each made a free throw to offset Eric Batchelor's short jumper in the final half-minute, and Brian Swift added two free throws for South Florida with one second left.
B.B. Walden had 13 rebounds and 12 points for South Florida (19-11), which will play regular-season champion Cincinnati in the quarterfinals Thursday night.
Eric Bush had a career-high 21 points for UAB (13-17), including 14 in the second half. P.J. Arnold added 13 and Will Campbell had 11.
There were 14 lead changes and six ties, including the halftime score of 25-all.
Morris Finley, who averaged 11.4 points a game during the regular season, recovered from a scoreless first half to score five in a row and give UAB a 32-26 lead two minutes into the second half. But South Florida fought back to take a 37-36 lead on Reggie Kohn's long 3-pointer less than three minutes later.
Jackson, the conference's all-time career scoring leader, was limited to eight points in the first half but scored seven during a five-minute, 15-5 run that left the Bulls with their biggest lead, 52-43, with 9:28 left.
UAB regained a 57-56 lead with 3:26 to go as Bush capped a 14-4 run with two free throws.
