The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
13-3, 3-0
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UTEP
10-7, 2-2
Blazers Power Past UTEP on Record Day
1/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
January 9, 2016
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By Steve Irvine, UABSports.com
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The message came before the game. It was repeated during every timeout during the first half, revisited at halftime and emphasized consistently in the second half of UAB's 87-80 victory over UTEP at Bartow Arena.
What was that message?
That the offensive plan called for the Blazers to attack inside-out, which means pounding the ball down low and into the paint as the first option. William Lee and Chris Cokley, in particular, made sure that approach helped the Blazers win for the 19th consecutive time at Bartow Arena, with tied a school record, and the 10th successive time this season.
Lee had a team-high 18 points and Cokley chipped in with 14 points. They were a combined 12-of-26 from the field and neither committed a turnover. The duo each had a double-double with Lee grabbing 12 rebounds and Cokley finishing with 11 boards. Lee added five blocked shots and two assists and Cokley, who had six offensive rebounds, added two steals.
Mix in nine points and four rebounds for Tosin Mehinti and it was a pretty good afternoon for the top three big men on UAB's roster.
"Coach told us to attack inside-out and that's what we did," said Lee, who tied career highs in points and rebounds. "The guards got us the ball and we scored it. If we missed, we got offensive rebounds."
But it took a heads-up play by the shortest player on the UAB roster - point guard Nick Norton - to finally put away a persistent UTEP team. The Blazers (13-3 overall, 3-0 C-USA) were clinging to a 79-74 lead with just over a minute to play when Norton found Cokley for a layup on a fast break to pad the lead to seven points. Norton then stole the ensuing inbounds pass, was fouled while attacking the basket and hit two free throws to finally put the Miners away.
"He's smarter than me because I didn't see the play," said Haase, whose team had 18 assists and eight turnovers. "I looked to see if we were back defensively. He took the basketball and did that. He makes winning plays. He's so smart, has such savvy and that's the play that, in a lot of ways, ended the game. He's a heck of player and he's a tough competitor."
Norton said the dish to Cokley was something they do daily in practice and the steal was instinctive.
"I noticed he was trying to save some time on the clock, on the pass, and he really wasn't paying attention at that time," said Norton, who had 13 points, seven assists, three steals, two rebounds and one turnover. "He threw it in, nobody was looking and he couldn't touch it again or it was our ball. It was a win-win for us."
Norton also made big plays early in the game for the Blazers. He hit a pair of 3-pointers early in the game but, for the most part, UAB struggled from the field in the first 20 minutes. The Blazers shot just 34 percent in the first half with five of the team's 10 baskets coming from outside the 3-point arc.
So how did the Blazers manage to take a 40-31 lead into the halftime locker room? It helped that they made 15-of-18 free throws.
"It was very big," Haase said. "Probably the last message I gave the team today (after the shootaround practice) was a key stat in the game was going to be the free throw line. If we could keep them off the free throw line and get more free throws ourselves, I thought that would be a huge stat in the game. It turned out to be that way."
UAB ended up making 26-of-37 free throws while UTEP was 14-of-21 from the line.
The Blazers finally heated up from the field early in the second half, using a 14-6 over the first six minutes to take a 55-36 lead. Cokley, Lee and Mehinti combined for 11 points during the run, and the other points came on a 3-pointer by Hakeem Baxter.
But the Miners (10-7 overall, 2-2 C-USA) slowly started chipping away, largely thanks to four second half 3-pointers by Earvin Morris. The Miners sliced the UAB advantage under double digits several times in the final 11 minutes, including trimming the deficit to five points twice in the final minute. UAB had the answer every time.
When the game concluded, Haase and the Blazer players continued the tradition of going into the student section to celebrate yet another home victory with the fans.
"Definitely our fans," Norton said when asked why the Blazers have tied the home winning streak. "There's no feeling like getting a stop or coming down on offense and everybody stands up in Bartow and gets loud. They play a big part in the game."
UAB takes its winning streak on the road for the first time since the middle of December on Thursday when the Blazers travel to Norfolk, Va., to battle Old Dominion on CBS Sports Network.
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).
