Blazers Blow By Birmingham-Southern, 90-67

Wednesday, December 3

Bartow Arena

7:30 p.m.

UAB

Birmingham-Southern

Blazers Blow By Birmingham-Southern, 90-67

12/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Dec 3, 2003

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Ronell Taylor scored 15 points and UAB used depth and relentless defense to wear down Birmingham-Southern, 90-67, on Wednesday night. With the win, the Blazers improve to 3-0, marking just the seventh time in school history UAB has opened a season with three straight wins.

"It was a great atmosphere and our guys played tremendously," UAB head coach Mike Anderson said. "My hat goes off to Birmingham-Southern. I thought they played hard. I felt like we set the tone early in the game and we were able to shoot the ball well."

Gabe Kennedy and Mo Finley scored 12 points apiece as UAB built a 31-point lead early in the second half.

BSC's Grant Davis lead all scorers with 30 points and 12 rebounds. James Collins added 16 points for the Panthers.

"UAB is a very good basketball team," said BSC head coach Duane Reboul. "Our guys played hard and with a great deal of intensity, but UAB was able to cover a lot of areas defensively. They (UAB) are a team that I am certain will have a successful season, but it is also one of the better basketball teams that UAB has had in quite some time."

The two schools are only five miles apart, but they were meeting for just the second time. UAB won 75-53 last year, and this year's contest was even more one-sided.

Anderson shuttled fresh troops in and out, using 13 players in the first half. The Blazers' trapping defenses forced 28 Birmingham-Southern turnovers. For a third straight game, UAB used its bench to keep fresh legs in the game throughout. All 16 Blazers played, while 10 played at least 10 minutes.

Derrick Williams, Shema Mbyirukira and Jakob Sigurdarson, Birmingham-Southern's leading scorers on the season, came in combining for 39.1 points per game. They scored only 12 total points against UAB.

UAB will next be on the road for the first time this season when it travels to Starkville, Miss. to take on SEC foe Mississippi State on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 1 p.m. The game will be televised live on FOX Sports Net, and can also be heard on WYDE 101.1 FM with the pregame show beginning at 12:30 p.m. CT.