The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Closes Three-Game Homestand Against Florida Atlantic Monday
12/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 21, 2008
UAB-FAU Game Notes | Gametracker | Watch
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will close its three-game home stand with a matchup against Florida Atlantic on Monday at 7 p.m. in Bartow Arena. The contest will mark the first time the Blazers and Owls have met on the hardwood.
UAB (7-3) enters Monday's contest against FAU coming off a 73-68 win over Troy last Saturday afternoon. Senior guard/forward Robert Vaden led UAB with 24 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists en route to the third home victory of the season. Senior guard Paul Delaney III also added 20 points and seven boards to the cause.
Vaden, a Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy candidate and Preseason C-USA Player of the Year recipient, leads the team in scoring (20.1 ppg) and is second in rebounding (6.7 rpg). He has also picked up where he left off last season on three-point shooting, leading the team with 38 treys on the season (38-of-102).
Senior forward Lawrence Kinnard had a big game against Jacksonville State on Dec. 17 with 25 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. However, he only recorded four points and four rebounds against the Trojans on Saturday, which snapped his streak of four straight 20-point performances. He is second on the team in scoring, averaging 17.3 points and leads the squad with 8.8 rebounds per contest.
Delaney is third on the team with 16.9 ppg, to go along with 4.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Additionally, Delaney also leads the team in field goal percentage, connecting on 51-of-90 shots from the floor this season (.567).
As a team, the Blazers are shooting 44.4 percent from the floor and 35.9 percent from beyond the arc this season. UAB is also averaging 8.5 three-point makes per game and is outscoring opponents by 5.0 points a game (75.0-70.0).
Florida Atlantic enters Monday's contest at UAB with a 4-7 overall record on the season after dropping a 94-87 decision to Troy last Wednesday. The Owls led by as many as five points with six minutes remaining in the contest, but could not hang on for the win. After starting the season with a 3-1 mark, FAU has dropped six of its last seven contests entering the game at UAB.
FAU is led by three-time all-conference senior forward Carlos Monroe, who returned to the lineup two games ago and has made an immediate impact with the team. In his two contests back, Monroe is averaging a team-leading 16.5 points per game, to go along with 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per contest.
Monroe is just one of four FAU players to average double-figure scoring this season. Senior guard Paul Graham III is averaging 15.9 ppg and is the team's leading three-point shooter, connecting on 24-of-68 treys this season (35.3 percent). Additionally, sophomore guard Xavier Perkins (12.4 ppg), who has not played in FAU's the last three contests, and freshman guard Shavar Richardson (10.6 ppg) also average double figures. Sophomore forward/center Brett Royster is among the NCAA leaders in blocks per game (2.1), while freshman guard Alex Tucker leads the team with just over four assists per game.
As a team, Florida Atlantic is shooting 42.4 percent from the floor and 33.5 percent from beyond the arc, while also averaging 67.0 points a game. However, the Owls are also allowing teams to shoot 44.3 percent from the floor and score an average of 70.1 points per contest.
Monday's contest will be aired on the home of UAB men's basketball, WUHT 107.7 FM, with the pregame show beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT.
