The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
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Jackson State
UAB Finishes Strong In 58-50 Win Against Jackson State
11/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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By Steve Irvine, UABSports.com
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Throw out the final two minutes and UAB men’s basketball coach Jerod Haase found plenty to frustrate him during a Sunday afternoon game against Jackson State at Bartow Arena. But he also didn’t have any trouble finding the brightest spot for his team on Sunday.
“There is a confidence that comes with winning – no matter how you win – and I think that is a positive,” Haase said after the Blazers scored the final 11 points in a 58-50 victory over the Tigers.
It was the defense that kept the Blazers in the game most of the night and, fittingly, the defense that sparked the rally at the end. Jackson State turned the ball over 27 times, including three on its final four possessions.
“It was our energy,” said UAB freshman point guard Nick Norton. “The last two minutes we were energized, especially on the defensive end. We got a couple steals and finished on the offensive end.”
UAB trailed, 50-47, with just over three minutes remaining when Norton shook free at the top of the key, took a pass from teammate Hakeem Baxter, a junior guard, and drained the 3-pointer. On the ensuing possession, Robert Brown knocked the ball loose and Norton grabbed the loose ball. Norton raced down the court and dished the ball to Tyler Madison to give UAB a 52-50 lead with 1:25 remaining.
UAB center Tosin Mehinti forced a five-second call on Jackson State’s Treshawn Bolden to get the ball back to the Blazers. UAB then took a 54-50 lead when Madison grabbed a rebound in traffic and converting the bucket following a miss by Brown. After a missed layup by Jackson State, Baxter hit two free throws to build UAB’s advantage to six points.
Brown then closed things out with a steal and fastbreak dunk with three seconds remaining.
“Tremendously,” Brown said when asked how much a young team grows up by winning down the stretch. “It’s always a great opportunity. We always want to blow everybody out but when you do have to fight and win at the very end, it teaches you something about your team.”
For most of the afternoon, though, Haase was frustrated with his team’s play. Jackson State owned the boards, outrebounding UAB, 40-24, and often outhustled the Blazers. UAB committed 12 of its 16 turnovers in the first half and never seemed to get into a continued offensive flow.
“I’m 10 times more frustrated in our play and how we did things today than I was in our loss Thursday night,” said Haase, whose team lost to South Florida, 73-71, in overtime on Thursday. “In the loss, I felt like we took a step forward in the program, a step forward with our guys. I think today we took a step back.”
Brown was the only double figure scorer for UAB. He had 12 points but was just 5-of-13 from the field. Norton had eight points, five assists and five steals, Baxter had eight points, four assists, two blocked shots, two rebounds and a steal and Madison had eight points, three rebounds and two steals. C.J. Washington had seven points, two rebounds and a steal.
But – until the final two minutes – Haase was upset with his team’s energy.
“We need to figure out a way to make up for that in practice and we need to do better in the Bahamas,” Haase said. “It was just hard to get going today. I felt like I was coaching effort – not just physical effort but mental effort. We had no concentration and couldn’t execute what we were trying to get them to concentrate on. Now, some positives were down the stretch it was fantastic.”
UAB plays No. 3 Wisconsin in the 2014 Battle 4 Atlantis on Wednesday in Nassau, Bahamas. Tip time between the Blazers and Badgers is set for 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET on AXS-TV.
