The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Memphis
Blazers Fall To No. 18 Memphis on Senior Day
3/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 8, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Chris Massie had 27 points and 11 rebounds and Antonio Burks had 11 points and 12 assists as No. 18 Memphis closed the regular season here Saturday with its 11th straight win, 90-79 over UAB. With the loss, the Blazers dropped to 16-11 overall and 8-8 in Conference USA.
"Memphis is a team that is playing well right now," UAB head coach Mike Anderson said. "John Calipari has done a good job of recruiting big time players. We had no answer for Chris Massie. At times I thought that our guys really got out and scrapped for the ball."
Morris Finley hit for 15 points to give him 1,000 points for his career. Finley becomes the 15th player in school history to achieve the milestone and the first Blazer to do it since Damon Cobb reached the milestone in 1999.
Demario Eddins led UAB with 18 points, while Eric Bush finished with 15 and Gabe Kennedy had 13.
The Tigers (22-5, 13-3 Conference USA) lost out on a share of the league title because of No. 8 Marquette's 70-61 win over Cincinnati and will be the No. 2 seed into next week's tournament at Louisville.
Memphis, which shot 73 percent in the first half, gave up most of a 23-point lead over the final minutes but still won its fifth straight by double digits. The Tigers finished the game shooting 63 percent from the field, including 9-of-17 from 3-point range, and had assists on 22 of 32 baskets.
Bush got all his points in the second half and finished with five of UAB's 12 steals.
Memphis took an 84-61 lead on Clyde Wade's layup with 4:02 left. Then, the Blazers closed with an 18-6 run as Bush hit three 3-pointers and two free throws over the final 2:39.
UAB also used a 7-0 run to cut into a 16-point deficit early in the second half. Massie's putback then kicked off a 13-3 spurt and the Blazers never got it back into single digits despite the late burst.
Memphis had its two highest scoring games of the season against UAB, including a 94-70 win on Feb. 15.
The Tigers took their biggest lead of the first half, 45-31, on the final basket. Wade bounced a pass to a wide-open John Grice off a turnover for a dunk with 1:05 left.
The Blazers will next travel to Louisville, Ky. to compete at the 2003 Kelly Tires Conference USA men's basketball tournament. UAB will wait until Saturday night to find out who it plays in the first round on Wednesday, March 12.
