The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
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UNC Pembroke
UAB Falls To UNC Pembroke In Exhibition, 72-71
11/7/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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By Steve Irvine, UABSports.com
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- UAB men’s basketball head coach Jerod Haase saw plenty tactical and fundamental things from his team that bothered him during Friday night’s 72-71 loss to UNC Pembroke in an exhibition game at Bartow Arena. But something that began before the basketball was tipped off was equally bothersome for the third-year head coach.
“I think we were expecting it to be too easy and there was a lack of respect coming from us,” Haase said after his team played its first and only exhibition game of the 2014-15 season.
There were plenty of disappointing things for a UAB team that is trying to mesh a bunch of newcomers into the rotation. The Blazers shot just 36.7 from the field, had little success while playing man-to-man defense and rarely got into a consistent offensive flow.
“We came out with a poor mental state, that’s on me,” Haase said. “That will be improved, there’s no question about that. Defensively, we were atrocious, absolutely atrocious, the first half. I certainly could have gone zone sooner but I was trying to be stubborn and have guys get down and guard. We were unable to do that.”
A big part of the problem, on the offensive end, was the frequency which UAB turned the ball over. The Blazers had 18 turnovers and were credited with just 12 assists.
“We wanted every pass to be a home run pass rather than make the simple play,” Haase said. “We are going to be a team on the offensive end and share the basketball. We are going to make the extra pass but, today, we were trying to make the pass that was going to be a home run pass, that’s why the turnovers were high and the assists were low.”
Through it all, though, the Blazers still found a way to be in position to win the game in the final seconds. Pembroke took the lead with 2.1 seconds left when guard Quamain Rose made the second of two free throws. UAB inbounded the ball to midcourt and quickly called a timeout, leaving 1.3 seconds on the clock. After a timeout, Hakeem Baxter threw a crosscourt pass to Robert Brown, who grabbed the ball, settled himself and fired a 3-pointer from the right wing that hit nothing but iron.
However, if UAB played better earlier it wouldn’t have come down to the final possession. The Braves took the lead with 17:33 left in the first half and led by as many as 12 points before settling for a 42-33 lead at intermission.
That didn’t change much in the first eight minutes of the second half. Pembroke continued to control things and led 48-36 with just over 17 minutes left in the game. But C.J. Washington took control, scoring six quick points to spark a 14-4 run that got the Blazers back in the game. The spurt was also marked by stronger play on the defensive end.
“I think a lot of it had to do with it getting to crunch time and we were able to lose,” Brown said. “It kind of flipped the switch on everybody and that’s a flip we’re going to have to switch at the start of the game.”
The teams stayed close over the final 10 minutes before Pembroke was able to stretch the lead to five points with less than a minute remaining. UAB climbed to within 71-69 with 30.8 seconds left on a Brown 3-pointer and Washington stole the ensuing inbound pass. Washington’s layup attempt was blocked out of bounds but Brown was fouled soon after. Brown hit both free throws to tie the game with 26.2 seconds left.
Pembroke worked the clock down before Rose hit the game-winning free throw.
Haase wants to make sure his team learns from the mistakes made on Friday night.
“We will be as good as we want to be this year, there is no doubt in my mind,” Haase said. “We have a chance to be a special team. But it’s only going to be, truthfully, if they do exactly what I tell them to do. Right now, it’s not happening, at least it didn’t tonight.”
