The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Cincinnati
Blazers Bury Bearcats, 80-69
2/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb 18, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Morris Finley had 13 points and Ronell Taylor added 12 in just 17 minutes to spark UAB to an 80-69 upset of No. 17 Cincinnati on Wednesday night. The game was played in front of a Bartow Arena record crowd of 9,312 fans.
The Blazers (16-6, 9-2 Conference USA) moved into a tie with idle Memphis atop the league standings leading up to Saturday's meeting, prompting the fans to rush the court.
Cincinnati (17-5, 8-3) lost for the fourth time in six games. The Bearcats held an 8-0 lead, then fell behind and made only a brief comeback attempt, almost exclusively at the free throw line.
"At the beginning of the game, we had to relax and just play basketball," UAB head coach Mike Anderson said. "I thought we fed off the energy that was in the building. Cincinnati is a great basketball team and they never went away, which is a credit to them and to coach (Bob) Huggins."
The Bearcats cut a 16-point deficit down to 62-55 on Armein Kirkland's two free throws with 6:40 left. They made 14 consecutive foul shots, but had only one field goal during a six-minute span.
Then, UAB took over at the line, making 18 of 23 over the final 11:11. Demario Eddins scored nine of his 11 points in the second half, all from the free throw line.
The Blazers missed only five of 31 from the line for the game, overcoming a 39 percent effort from the field and a 47-31 rebounding deficit.
They forced 21 turnovers and committed only 10.
Taylor scored 10 points in the first half off the bench as UAB's reserves combined for 37 points. Carldell Johnson had five assists, four steals and drew several charges defensively.
"To me, Squeaky Johnson was the MVP of the game," Huggins said. "He didn't make a field goal and he was the best player on the floor. He got them into everything and never got rattled."
Jason Maxiell led the Bearcats with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Field Williams and Kirkland had 11 apiece. Jamaal Lucas added 10 points.
Cincinnati's leading scorer, Tony Bobbitt, missed all four field goal attempts and didn't score before fouling out with 6:29 left. Nick Williams fouled out 16 seconds earlier.
The Blazers have won seven of their last eight games and snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Bearcats.
The Bearcats wilted under the Blazers' pressure defense midway through the first half. Down early, UAB forced seven turnovers in a 20-5 run and held Cincinnati to two field goals in an 8:34 span.
The lead stretched to 43-27 on Taylor's 3-pointer with 55 seconds left.
Field Williams answered 25 seconds later with the Bearcats' only 3-pointer of the half. They were just 7-of-16 from the free throw line, making 1 of 10 3-pointers for their second lowest first-half point total of the season.
UAB will next travel to Memphis, Tenn. to take on the Tigers of Memphis on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 6 p.m. CST. The game will be a battle of Conference USA's first-place teams, as both team's enter the game with identical 9-2 records in conference play. The game will be televised live on ESPN.
