The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Middle Tennessee State
UAB Edges Middle Tennessee, 76-71
11/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2010
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) -Jamarr Sanders scored 19 points and Cameron Moore had 15 points and 10 rebounds to help UAB hold off Middle Tennessee 76-71 on Wednesday night.
"It's always good to get a win on the road, especially when you play a talented and well-coached team like Middle Tennessee," UAB head coach Mike Davis said. "I thought our guard play was terrific. Aaron (Johnson) was a difference maker and showed how much he has matured as a player. Jamarr and Dexter (Fields) hit some big-time shots for us. There are certainly some things we need to clean up, especially rebounding and finishing strong, but I am pleased with this performance."Dexter Fields added 15 points for the Blazers (2-0) on the strength of a career-best five treys and Aaron Johnson dished out 10 assists with one turnover, to go along with nine points.
UAB, which took a 65-64 home victory last year over the Blue Raiders, hit 10 of 25 3-pointers and led by 16 with 9:53 to go.
The Blue Raiders (1-1) closed to 74-71 on three straight free throws by James Washington with 8 seconds to go, but Johnson, who is now 14-of-14 from the charity stripe this season, answered with two foul shots 3 seconds later to seal the victory.
Middle Tennessee, coming off a 90-46 win over Tennessee Temple, shot only 36.7 percent from the field (22 of 60), making just 3 of 17 from long range.
Jason Jones led the Blue Raiders with 14 points and Washington and Kyle Hunt had 12 apiece.
Ovie Soko, who was in foul trouble most of the night, finished with eight points as the Blazers improve to 2-0 for the third time in the last four years.
The Green and Gold are now a perfect 4-0 against the Blue Raiders in the series history.
UAB will next travel to Tempe, Ariz. to take on Arizona State on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast live over the internet on FOXsportsArizona.com.
