The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Charlotte
UAB Blazes Past 49ers, 77-66
3/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 11, 2004
CINCINNATI - Mo Finley scored 28 points to lead UAB to a 77-66 win over Charlotte in the Conference USA Tournament quarterfinals Thursday. The win marked the Blazers' fourth consecutive victory, matching their longest winning streak of the season.
"I thought our guys came out and played a tremendous defensive game," UAB head coach Mike Anderson said. "Our senior leadership was big for us today. We are starting to find our rhythm. Defensively in the second half our intensity really turned up. But I thought the bench was the most important piece of this basketball team."
Sidney Ball added 13 points and Ronell Taylor had 11 for the Blazers (20-8) in a game between two of the five teams that shared the regular-season championship.
Brendan Plavich led Charlotte (21-8) with 21 points, all of them on three-point shots. Curtis Withers scored 15 points, Demon Brown added 11 and Butter Johnson had 10 for the 49ers.
Finley opened the second half with two consecutive three-pointers that wiped out a 37-35 halftime deficit and sparked a 16-2 run that gave UAB a 51-39 lead with 13:56 remaining. The LaFayette, Ala. native then sealed the game by scoring UAB's final 13 points, including going 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final three minutes.
"My teammates did a good job of finding me open shots," Finley said. "Scoring is usually the easy part of the game, but defense is what's important. We were very fortunate to come out with a win."
UAB will play either DePaul, another co-champion, or TCU in Friday's semifinals.
