The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
18-4, 8-1
Marshall
11-11, 7-2
Blazers Top Marshall in Battle for First
1/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Steve Irvine, UABSports.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Thomas Smallwood didn't play in Saturday's gutsy 81-78 UAB victory on the road over Marshall in a matchup of the teams which entered in a first-place tie in the Conference USA standings.
However, Smallwood, a 7-foot true freshman from France, deserves perhaps the biggest assist of the afternoon. It was Smallwood who reminded his teammates how good this team can be instead of dwelling on Thursday's streak-busting loss at Western Kentucky. The reminder came just as a team meeting on Friday evening in Huntington came to a close.
"The tone has been we're ticked off we lost," UAB head coach Jerod Haase said. "We're upset. We're down. It's a different feel, a different vibe. I said, `Does anybody else have anything to say?' Thomas said, `Well, yeah, we just won 14 games in a row. We're 14-1 over the last 15 game. We're pretty darn good. Stop acting like the end of the world is here."
Nick Norton, who leads the Blazers in assists, also gave credit to Smallwood for the key assist.
"Props to him to everything he does, day in and day out," Norton said.
It was certainly a more pleasant feeling after UAB regained sole possession of first place once again. The Blazers (18-4 overall, 8-1 C-USA) leave Huntington with a game lead over Marshall (11-11 overall, 7-2). Middle Tennessee, which also has two losses, will try to keep pace on Saturday night at Western Kentucky.
Saturday's game certainly came with plenty of drama, especially in the final 7.6 seconds. UAB was nursing a 79-78 lead as Marshall got one final chance. Thundering Herd forward Ryan Taylor drove toward the basket, but before he could shoot the ball, UAB junior Tosin Mehinti stripped the ball, sending it out of bounds. Officials originally ruled the ball went out on UAB, but after a lengthy delay viewing tape of the play, gave the ball to the Blazers with 1.8 seconds remaining.
Marshall, which only had five second-half fouls at the time, fouled Norton on the inbounds play, running off all but 0.6 seconds. The Thundering Herd was then called for an intentional foul on a long pass to William Lee. The 6-foot-8 Lee converted both free throws to help the Blazers escape with the victory.
"I thought we played extremely hard, played well, not great, but played really well," Haase said. "I'm really proud of our guys. It was a true team effort."
UAB led for more than 32 minutes in the game, including all 20 second-half minutes, while the Thundering Herd led for just 1:08. The game was tied for nearly seven minutes in the first half, but UAB was able to enjoy a 40-32 lead at halftime after Norton closed with a last-second layup.
Several different UAB players led the offense in the second half to help the Blazers maintain the comfortable margin for a good chunk of the half. However, the way Marshall plays on offense, it was hard to get too comfortable. James Kelly, Marshall's dynamic scorer, had 20 of his game-high 30 points in the second half. He nearly led the Thundering Herd to the come-from-behind win.
UAB countered with balance. Chris Cokley had 10 second-half points while Dirk Williams (nine points), Norton (eight points) and Robert Brown (eight points) nearly joined him in double figures over the final 20 minutes.
"Different guys stepped up," said Haase, whose team had five double-digit scorers for the game. "When you talk about our team, if you just say one thing, it's a complete team. It's a team, and we're a true team. Today's win, when you talk about it, individuals certainly did well, but it's a team effort."
Haase inserted Denzell Watts into the starting lineup in place of Norton. That move helped UAB win the battle of the bench points, 45-8. UAB outrebounded Marshall, 45-39, but the Thundering Herd had more second chance points (14-7).
The Blazers come back home for an important two-game home stand against Florida International and Florida Atlantic. First up is Thursday game against FIU, which will tip off at 6 p.m. at Bartow Arena.
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.
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).
