The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Clemson
UAB Falls to Clemson, 70-52, in NCAA First Four
3/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 15, 2011
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DAYTON, Ohio (AP) - Jerai Grant scored a career-best 22 points and the fast-starting Tigers built a double-figure lead and never backed off in beating UAB 70-52 on Tuesday night in an NCAA tournament "First Four" game at the University of Dayton Arena.
Jamarr Sanders had 19 points and Dexter Fields 12 for UAB, regular-season champions of Conference USA.
"I'm as proud of the basketball team as I've ever been in my coaching career," UAB head coach Mike Davis said. "I can't say enough about this basketball team and the things that they had to endure coming into the NCAA Tournament. We had two seniors on this basketball team that has bought into everything we tried to do this year on and off the court. And so we lose two really, really great men. Both guys will graduate on time and both guys have a career in basketball. Both guys trusted us as coaches, and they trusted our administration. They've just done a terrific job, and I'm proud of them."
Grant, who hit 10 of 15 shots from the field and also grabbed seven rebounds, said the most important thing was to sleep--and then get prepared.
"Rest is going to be a big factor," he said. "We have to prepare, watch video of them and go through their sets and we should be fine."
Demontez Stitt, Clemson's leading scorer at 14.7 points a game, said it was important for the Tigers to relax and let their bodies have a break.
In a matchup of No. 12 seeds, part of the expanded tournament's new look, the Tigers (22-11) went on a 21-2 run in the first half and never let the big lead slip away, as they had in Saturday's overtime loss to North Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals.
Milton Jennings added 11 points and Tanner Smith and Devin Booker each had 10 for Clemson, picked to finish seventh in the ACC. The win was its first in the NCAA tournament since the 1997 team advanced to the round of 16.
"Our energy was great early," Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. "We swarmed them a little bit and knocked some balls loose and got out in transition and got a nice lead."
Ahead 39-27 at the break, Clemson never let the Blazers draw closer than eight points in the second half.
UAB's hopes wilted when, already trailing 61-42, it lost point guard Aaron Johnson.
Johnson, leading the nation in assists at 7.7 per game, was injured while trying to prevent an easy layup by Grant. After lying on the floor for several minutes, he left the court on crutches with what coach Mike Davis called a broken leg. Johnson received a round of applause from the crowd of 10,025.
"I mean, when he went down, I thought he was just cramping up because he'd been cramping up all year, and I was waiting for him to get back up," Sanders said. "For him to go down like that in his last game, it really hurts. Aaron is a great guy. He's done wonders for the program of UAB and the city of Birmingham. He's an unbelievable player, and to lose him in his final game so he can't go out on the floor, finishing the game, I mean, it hurts a lot."
"Clemson is a real good team," Davis said. "They came out and fought hard. And every time we would make a run, they did what a good team is supposed to do--they withstood our run and made a run of their own."
As if to take a slap at doubters who didn't think they belonged in the field, the Tigers came out smoking.
Grant, who had opened the scoring, rebounded his own miss and hit the follow with 6:34 left to swell the Clemson lead to 31-11.
Meanwhile, the Blazers continually turned over the ball, and when they did get off a shot, they missed the mark. They didn't have a field goal for almost 8 1/2 minutes of the opening half and had more turnovers (eight) than points (seven) in the opening 10:30.
But UAB regrouped behind its 3-point shooters. Hitting 7 of 15 behind the arc for the half, it got back in the game. Fields hit two 3s and Johnson added one in a 16-4 run to cut the lead to 35-27. But the Blazers never got any closer.
"Clemson is a real good team," Sanders said. "They came out and fought hard. And every time we would make a run, they did what a good team is supposed to do. They withstood our run and made a run of their own. But I don't think we were overwhelmed at all."
