The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
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Young Harris College
Blazers Capture Opener Over Young Harris, 105-59
11/10/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 10, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The UAB men's basketball team made its regular season debut on Saturday night at Bartow Arena, defeating Young Harris College, 105-59.
Not only was it the first game for UAB (1-0) of the 2012-13 season, but the first for head coach Jerod Haase on the sidelines for the Green and Gold, marking his first victory guiding the Blazers.
The Blazers shot a blistering 53.6 percent from the floor, draining 38 of 69 total shots, as six players reached double figures in scoring. Leading the offensive outburst was Jordan Swing and Robert Williams who each poured in 17 points a piece.
In addition to his point total, Swing corralled seven rebounds and had four assists.
Others who reached double digits included Fahro Alihodzic (16), Jekore Tyler (15), Terence Jones (13) and Preston Purifoy (13).
For Tyler, the 15 points marked a career-high, besting his previous high, which was 14, coincidentally set against UAB's next opponent, Creighton, last season. Tyler drained seven of 10 shots off the bench, grabbed seven boards and dished out four assists.
UAB was not only on fire from the field, but sank 11-of-21 (52.4 percent) shots from beyond the arc, and made 20 of 24 attempts from the foul line.
"I think in the first half, we started off slow and did some things that I was disappointed with on effort and execution," Haase said. "Once we picked up the effort and concentrated a little bit more, I thought we had a lot more success. At that point, the guys really bought into it and made plays throughout the second half.
In the second half, the Blazers outscored the Mountain Lions, 54-25. Not only did UAB shoot well from the field after intermission, making 20 of 35 shots, including 5-of-8 from downtown, the defense buckled down as well. Young Harris was held to 21.2 percent shooting (7-for-33) in the second stanza and just 27.7 percent overall.
"At halftime we talked about two things, you have to play hard every possession, and then there's the execution," Haase said. "We were doing things in the first half that the guys will watch on tape and be embarrassed by. We talk about just running a secondary break or running a play and they just seem like they forgot at times. I think that there were a few jitters because it was the first game, but we got them settled down, and that helped."
By reaching 105 points, it marked the first time that UAB eclipsed the 100 points in a regulation game since beating Houston, 101-99 inside Bartow Arena back on Feb. 20, 2008. The 105-point effort also tied for the 13th-highest single-game total in UAB history and was the most points scored by the Blazers since they defeated Belmont, 107-76, on Dec. 15, 2004.
Next up for UAB is a trip to Omaha, Neb., to play Creighton on Wednesday. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. CT.
