The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
1-1
Furman
1-1
Hot Shooting Pushes Furman Past UAB
11/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 14, 2016
Box Score (PDF)| Quotes
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- It was a cold shooting second half that eventually doomed the UAB men's basketball team in Monday night's CBE Hall of Fame Classic matchup against visiting Furman at Bartow Arena. However, UAB head coach Robert Ehsan said that a tepid defensive beginning also played a factor in the Blazers' 84-74 loss to the Paladins.
"We gave them some confidence early, offensively, and I thought that carried through most of the game," Ehsan said. "They were very confident shooting the ball and, offensively, we struggled for a good stretch of the second half, which, I think, in the end broke our back. Give them credit, a difficult loss for us, but we'll bounce back on Thursday."
The Blazers, who have one of the top home court advantages in college basketball, had a 26-game Bartow Arena winning streak snapped. The trouble began early as the Blazers fell into a hole, largely thanks to Furman's outside shooting. The Paladins' first three baskets were outside the 3-point stripe and they built a lead that stretched to seven points.
The Blazers (1-1) put together an 11-0 run midway through the first half to take their first lead at 28-24 with 10:12 left before halftime. Senior forward Tyler Madison started the damage with back-to-back 3-point plays and Dirk Williams had the final five points of the rally. It was Willliams' layup after a Deion Lavender steal and assist that gave UAB a 25-24 lead. Williams then nailed a 3-pointer to give UAB the three-point lead.
The teams eventually traded the lead several times in the final seven minutes of the half before Williams' 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer gave UAB a 46-45 lead at intermission.
UAB opened the second half with four consecutive points by William Lee and maintained the lead for the next nine minutes. The lead dissolved for good when Furman (1-1) used an 11-0 run to take a 73-62 advantage with 6:45 remaining.
"They spread us out a little bit," Ehsan said. "We had a hard time guarding the basketball. I thought their guards played excellent, beating us off the dribble. I don't care who it is, somebody shoots 63 percent from 3, makes 15 3s, they're going to be hard to beat."
The Blazers also hurt themselves by not getting into a second half offensive flow. Lee's 12-foot jumper with 18:46 remaining was the lone UAB field goal until Tosin Mehinti followed his own miss with 6:17 left. The Blazers did consistently find their way to the free throw line, making 19-of-24 after halftime and 25-of-31 overall.
Dirk Williams and Lee each scored 15 points to lead the Blazers in scoring while Hakeem Baxter added 14 points and Chris Cokley chipped in with 11 points. Madison had another solid outing with nine points, three rebounds, two blocked shots and an assist, and Mehinti had eight points, six rebounds and an assist.
Lavender, starting his first game for the injured Nick Norton at point guard, finished with two points, six rebounds, five assists, three turnovers and a steal.
"This is an older group," Ehsan said. "This is not an acceptable performance from us. We're going to make some adjustments. We're going to have to be ready to play very quickly because I think Troy, like Furman, is a very good basketball team."
The Blazers play host to Troy on Thursday night at 7 at Bartow Arena.
For more information on UAB men's basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), Instagram (@blazerhoops) and Snapchat (@UAB_MBB).
