The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Six-Minute Stretch Spells Success for UAB
12/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Steve Irvine, UABSports.com
UAB didn’t turn things around in the 60 seconds it took to finish the second-to-last media timeout of the first half during Tuesday’s 76-66 victory over Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday afternoon at Bartow Arena.
It’s what the Blazers did over the final six minutes of the first half that changed the complexion of the game. But those 60 seconds with UAB head coach Jerod Haase certainly played a big role in straightening things out for a struggling team at that point.
“Coach kind of jumped on us in that last time out, that kind of sparked us,” said UAB senior Robert Brown.
The Blazers turned that spark into an 18-2 run over the seven minutes and 44 seconds following the timeout. That burst turned what was a 29-13 deficit into a 31-31 tie at halftime. But, as Haase pointed out, the change didn’t come with immediate results.
“After the timeout, we went down and had a good offensive possession and had a silly turnover,” Haase said. “On the defensive end, we had a pretty good defensive possession. It wasn’t like I gave them a magic pill and everything worked from there.”
The Lumberjacks actually scored on a short jumper by Ty Charles after UAB’s turnover. That basket, however, marked the only points for Stephen F. Austin in the final 5:59 of the first half.
The 18-0 run was a thing of beauty. The Blazers made 7-of-12 shots in the final 5:45 of the half. Two of the misses were tipped in by the Blazers and another miss was rebounded by Cokley, who was fouled on the play and converted a pair of free throws. UAB didn’t turn the ball over and had five assists in that span and forced four Lumberjack turnovers.
“Just stay calm, stay focused,” Brown said of the approach to overcoming the deficit. “We didn’t want to get too high or too low. Basketball is a game of runs, so we just felt over time were going to make our run. We just needed to lock in defensively.”
They also clicked offensively. Brown scored on a backdoor layup and hit an open 3-pointer from the right corner to begin the march back. William Lee scored on layup and Brown cut the deficit to 31-22 on a dunk after a nice alley-oop pass from Nick Norton with 3:30 left in the half.
Cokley’s free throws cut the Stephen F. Austin lead to seven points before Lee tipped in Denzell Watts’ miss on a fastbreak layup with 2:29 remaining. Cokley followed up a missed jumper by Hakeem Baxter with 1:37 left and Watts capped the comeback with a 3-pointer from the left wing after a nice pass by Tosin Mehinti.
“It wasn’t a change in philosophy or a change in Xs and Os, it was a change in attitude,” said Haase, whose team improved to 10-3. “The guys, at that point, accepted responsibility. What comes first, the success or the effort? Once we realized effort has to come first and then success will happen after that, it was a lot more successful.”
Eventually, that led to a successful finish to a successful non-conference portion of the schedule.
The Conference USA Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are set to return to Birmingham for the second consecutive year, marking the third time the Blazers will host the event. The men's tournament, as well as the women's semifinals and championship, will be played at Legacy Arena in downtown Birmingham, while the women's first round and quarterfinal action will take place at UAB's Bartow Arena.
UAB ticket mini plans are now on sale and in high demand. The Conference USA Season Pass is available for $119 in the lower level, (a savings of over $60) and only $79 in the upper level, ($56 off the regular price).
For more information on UAB men’s basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), on Instagram (@blazerhoops) or on Facebook (Facebook.com/UABMensBasketball). For more on all Blazer sports teams follow the official social media accounts of UAB Athletics on Twitter (@UABAthletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uabathletics) or on Snapchat (@uabathletics).
