The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Memphis
Blazers Fall To No. 23 Memphis, 73-66
2/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Sean Banks scored 21 of his 24 points in the second half to lead No. 23 Memphis to a 73-66 victory over UAB on Saturday night, giving the Tigers sole possession of first place in Conference USA.
"I thought our guys scrapped and played their hearts out tonight," said UAB head coach Mike Anderson. "We just couldn't get any kind of rhythm going. We hung in there and fought and tried and clawed. We were able to force some turnovers and get on a little bit of a run there for awhile, but then we made some untimely turnovers of our own."
Memphis (19-4, 10-2) won its 10th straight game, while UAB, which was trying to beat its second ranked team this week, had its three-game winning streak snapped. The Blazers (16-7, 9-3) beat No. 17 Cincinnati, 80-69, on Wednesday night.
"I don't think the Cincinnati game was a factor, at all," Anderson said. "We're a pressing team, but we committed 19 turnovers and some were untimely. I thought that how we played against Memphis was similar to our game against Louisville."
Antonio Burks had 16 points, six assists and five steals for Memphis, while Rodney Carney scored 15 points. Carney, Banks and center Arthur Barclay each had eight rebounds for Memphis.
"Memphis is a very good basketball team and we didn't play our best ball tonight," said Anderson. "Memphis did what they had to do and they got the victory."
Morris Finley led UAB with 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Ronell Taylor had 12 points for the Blazers, while Carldell Johnson finished with 10 and was 3-for-3 from three-point range.
Banks and Burks carried the Tigers in the second half, thwarting a UAB comeback. Banks was key down the stretch, hitting eight straight free throws, including two with 53 seconds left that gave the Tigers a 71-61 lead, their first double-digit lead of the game.
Both teams started slow, missing 10 of their first 11 shots. Memphis finished the half shooting 37 percent, while UAB managed 33 percent, as the Tigers led 30-24. Memphis would finish the game shooting 45 percent, while UAB was held to 38 percent.
Burks and Banks helped Memphis build the lead to nine points twice in the first 11 minutes of the second half. Banks hit five of six shots from the field and Burks connected on all but one of his five.
But Finley stayed just as hot to keep UAB in the game, hitting four of his eight 3-pointers during the same stretch.
