The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
DePaul
Blazers Drop C-USA Road Contest To DePaul
1/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan 17, 2004
ROSEMONT, Ill. - Quemont Greer had 18 points and eight rebounds and Sammy Mejia added 16 points as DePaul held off a second half rally by UAB to post a 75-64 Conference USA victory over the Blazers here Saturday.
DePaul (9-6, 2-2 C-USA) used some hot shooting as the Blue Demons connected on 55 percent of their field goals en route to the win. UAB shot just 37.5 percent from the floor.
DePaul took a 45-30 lead on a 3-pointer by Greer early in the second half, its largest lead of the game before a furious UAB rally.
UAB (9-5, 2-1) went on a 20-5 run to get back into the game. Derrick Broom and Morris Finley each hit 3s to open the spurt that cut the DePaul lead to 59-57. Broom had eight points during the span.
"DePaul shot the ball really well," said Blazer head coach Mike Anderson, "and anytime you play a team that shoots well, it's difficult to win, especially on the road. I want to credit our guys, though. They never folded. We had it cut to two, and I thought we might have them on the ropes. We showed a lot of heart."
Drake Diener responded for DePaul after the Blazer run. He keyed an 8-1 DePaul run, hitting a 3-pointer and a jumper to give DePaul a 67-58 lead with 3:18 left. Diener scored 14 points for DePaul.
Gabe Kennedy led UAB with 17 points and 12 rebounds, his second double-double of the season, and Donell Taylor added 10 points. UAB had won the last four meetings between the two teams.
UAB point guard Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson also had an outstanding game as he contributed nine assists with only one turnover in 30 minutes of action. Johnson also grabbed five rebounds, a career-best total as were his assists.
Free throw shooting hampered the Blazers again as they hit only 7-of-16 from the charity stripe while the Blue Demons converted 15-of-19 attempts. UAB had a season-best 18 offensive rebounds but committed 16 turnovers, its most since the Dec. 20 contest vs. Alabama A&M when the Blazers had 23.
DePaul led 37-24 at the half. Greer and Mejia both had seven points to lead DePaul at half. Mejia hit a jumper to give DePaul a 28-13 lead with 8:01 left in the half.
UAB held Delonte Holland to just 10 points. Holland came into the game averaging 20 points per game.
Andre Brown missed his seventh straight game with knee discomfort. He is DePaul's leading rebounder.
UAB resumes C-USA action Tuesday night at home when the Blazers play host to South Florida (7:30 p.m., Bartow Arena).
