The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
1-0
Columbus State
0-0
UAB Begins Season With 76-56 Win Over Columbus State
11/8/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 8, 2013
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- UAB junior point guard Chad Frazier recorded a double-double and four Blazers scored in double figures as the UAB men's basketball team downed Columbus State, 76-56, in the season-opener at Bartow Arena Friday evening.
Along with a new court, which was put down Thursday evening just in time for UAB's home opener, six Blazer newcomers made their debut on Friday -- each making an early impact.
Junior forward C.J. Washington led all scorers in the contest with 17 points, while Frazier added 12 points and 10 assists in his first game in the Green and Gold.
"For the most part I think the meshing of the team, with only five guys returning from last year and six new faces, has been great," head coach Jerod Haase said."The guys are buying into the mindset, the team concept and are doing what we tell them to do every day."
Columbus State was able to keep things close in the opening 10 minutes of the game. After climbing within one, 9-8, with 13:39 remaining in the first half, the Cougars then witnessed UAB go on a 12-2 run to extend the margin.
The Blazers, who are now 1-0 on the season, shot 58 percent (18-of-31) in the opening stanza and hit 6-of-12 (50 percent) from 3-point range.
CSU was unable to recover from the Blazers' strong shooting performance as UAB built as much as a 31-point advantage in the second half on its way to the 76-56 win.
Joining Frazier and Washington in double figures were seniors Rod Rucker and Jordan Swing, who each finished with 12 points. Swing finished the night with a perfect 4-for-4 mark from 3-point range, while Rucker added six rebounds.
UAB stays at home with a game against Rutgers on Monday at 7 p.m. CT. Fans are encouraged to come out and show support as UAB pays tribute to legendary coach Gene Bartow with Monday's Bartow Classic.
For ticket information, contact the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at 205-975-8221.
Postgame Notes
• UAB is 25-11 in season openers and 14-4 in home openers.
• Chad Frazier recorded 10 assists. - UAB hasn’t had a player dish out 10 or more assists since March 2, 2011 when Aaron Johnson recorded 14 against Southern Miss.
• Double-Double: Frazier recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists.
• Jordan Swing finished the game 100% (4-4) from the 3-point line.
• All eligible Blazers saw action in Friday’s game.
Postgame Quotes
UAB Head Coach Jerod Haase
Opening comments…
“My general attitude is a good one. After the exhibition game I was a little bit disappointed and frustrated in that I didn’t think we took our practice habits out to the game. Today, I thought for the most part and for the first 32 minutes we did some things well, shared the basketball and knocked in some shots. Defensively, I thought we were pretty efficient. The last eight minutes I was a little frustrated – we need to make sure we play a complete game, and realize it is a learning process and make sure we’re getting better.”
On junior guard Chad Frazier…
“I thought he did well tonight. I think the last couple practices as a staff we did a better job of explaining things in what we need him to do, and he did a better job listening and changing his habits as well. It’s a combination of both of those things. He is a really good player and has a chance to be a really special player both as a scorer, a distributor, and a leader as well.”
On moving forward to Rutgers Monday…
“We’ll have a couple practices this weekend and start preparing. We do understand it’s a big game for a lot of reasons. One of them is Gene Bartow and making sure we represent him and his legacy the right way. We talked about it in the locker room after the game and we want to play well because it’s a big game, but it’s a big game because it’s the next game. The one thing that makes it very special is that it is the Gene Bartow Classic.”
On team chemistry…
"For the most part I think the meshing of the team, with only five guys returning from last year and six new faces, has been great. The guys are buying into the mindset, the team concept and are doing what we tell them to do every day."
UAB junior forward C.J. Washington
On tonight's game...
“Everybody came out from the jump playing hard like we know we’re supposed to. The whole team came out with a great focus and we came out with the win. Every day we practice like we’re playing for a championship, so every team we play, we play them like we would for a championship.
UAB junior guard Chad Frazier
Overall thoughts on tonight's game...
“We played pretty good. Defensively we played better than we did in our previous game. Our shots were falling tonight, so it was a pretty good night for us. "
On team chemistry…
“Our chemistry has gotten a lot better since the summer. We’re ready to rock on Monday."
