The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
West Alabama
Blazers Down West Alabama, 74-43, in Exhibition Contest
11/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 1, 2006
Box Score
Download Free Acrobat Reader
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - On Wednesday evening, the public got their first look at the 2006-07 edition of the UAB men's basketball team as they ran over the Tigers of West Alabama, 74-43, in the Blazers' first-and-only exhibition game of the year.
UAB boasted a trio of players in double-digits, led by junior Paul Delaney who tallied a team-best 20 points on 5-of-8 from the field and 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. Delaney put on a show for the 1,810 fans in attendance, leading the Blazers in four different categories, including points (20), assists (11), rebounds (7) and steals (4).
Senior Wen Mukubu also had an impressive opening night with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists. Freshman Taurus Dortch hit the double-digit mark as well, hitting 4-of-5 shots on his way to 11 points. Dortch added five rebounds, one assist and one steal as well.
UAB found its mark during the first half, hitting 53.8 percent of its shots to rack up 41 points in the first 20 minutes of play, compared to 24 for West Alabama. The Blazers continued their sharp-shooting, sinking 47.8 percent of their attempts at the basket to tally an additional 33 points.
Overall, the Blazers shot 25-of-49 (51.0%) from the field and held the Tigers to just 27.1 percent for the game on 16-of-59 shooting. UAB's intense defensive styling also caused West Alabama to commit 24 turnovers on the night.
The Blazers will kick-off its regular-season on Friday, November 10 when they face Washington State in the opening game of the John Thompson Foundation Challenge in Milwaukee, Wisc. UAB's home-opening contest is slated for Wednesday, November 22 when the Blazers host Wyoming in a 7 p.m. battle on the harwood.
