The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
East Carolina
UAB Rallies to Beat East Carolina, 66-59
1/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2011
GREENVILLE, N.C. ----- UAB's Jamarr Sanders scored 26 points as the Blazers rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half to defeat East Carolina 66-59 Monday night.
The Blazers (12-4, 2-1 Conference USA) beat East Carolina (9-8, 1-2) for the sixth time in a row and the 10th time in the last 11 meetings.
The game was a makeup from the originally scheduled date last Wednesday. The game was postponed because UAB was unable to travel to Greenville due to winter weather that hindered the southeastern U.S.
A team that has played better in second halves all season, UAB trailed by 12 with 16:19 to play as Erin Straughn's 3-pointer made it 39-27. The Blazers then went on an 11-2 run on the strength of three 3-point field goals, two by Sanders and one by Preston Purifoy, in a two-minute span to cut the margin to 41-38.
UAB tied the score at 49-49 as Cameron Moore converted two free throws.
After the final tie at 52-52, the Blazers went on an 8-0 run that put the Pirates away. Sanders' layup at the 5:56 mark gave UAB a 54-52 lead,
Another layup by Sanders with 2:30 to play made it 60-52, and East Carolina came no closer than three points after that.
UAB senior point guard Aaron Johnson, the nation's assist leader, was hampered by foul trouble for most of the game and finished with 10 points and three assists in 21 minutes. He picked up his fourth foul with 18:16 remaining in the game and had to sit most of the second half before re-entering the contest in the final minutes.
Moore added 16 points for the Blazers.
Jamar Abrams and Jontae Sherrod had 16 points each for East Carolina.
The Pirates held a 27-24 lead at halftime before building their 12-point advantage. There were seven ties in the game and six lead changes in the game.
UAB will now return home for a pair of games in Bartow Arena. The Blazers will play host to SMU Wednesday night ( 7:00 p.m.) before hosting rival Memphis Saturday at 6:00 p.m. in a contest to be televised nationally on ESPN2.
