The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
4-4
Auburn
6-1
Auburn Hangs on to Defeat UAB
12/3/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2016
Box Score (PDF) | Postgame Quotes
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The final outcome didn't completely wipe away what was a magical evening for college basketball at Bartow Arena on Saturday night. But, in the moments following UAB's 74-70 setback to Auburn before a sellout crowd of 8,728, the final result is what mattered most.
"Disappointed in the outcome," UAB head coach Robert Ehsan said. "I thought we got off to a good start feeding off the crowd. We got into a lull offensively in the second half, where we couldn't get a rhythm going and they made a couple 3s. I thought that was the outcome of the game."
What did please Ehsan, though, was the top-notch atmosphere inside Bartow Arena.
"I think it's huge for our program," Ehsan said. "We had a lot of fans and recruits here. I think for everybody, myself included, this is what we all envision Bartow can be like. Hopefully, we'll be more consistent. We have to continue to put a better product out there on the floor and be successful to help that. I can't say it enough that I thank all the fans for coming out. Our students were awesome. Hopefully, they'll come back and we'll get a couple of more atmospheres like that as we go forward."
The Blazers (4-4) led by as many as seven points in the first half but foul trouble and the shooting of Auburn freshman Jared Harper kept UAB from pulling away more. Harper was 5-of-7 on 3-pointers before halftime. However, what hurt the Blazers just as much was Chris Cokley, William Lee, Dirk Williams and Deion Lavender each missing significant time because of fouls.
UAB still carried a 37-33 lead into halftime, partly thanks to the early shooting of Lee, who had 10 points with a pair of 3-pointers and some quality minutes from Denzell Watts. Watts contributed six points and narrowly missed a 3-pointer at the first half buzzer that would have given UAB a seven-point lead.
"I'm not sure how much bigger (the lead) could have been but I just know we were in a pretty good spot," Watts said. "We've been struggling coming out in the second half. We wanted to play with the intensity we had in the first half. That is what we were focused on. I think it came out a little flat and it cost us."
It hurt that Cokley and Williams each drew their third foul in the first three minutes and went to the bench. It was a sign of things to come for the Blazers in the second half.
"We were subbing in and out," Ehsan said of the effects of foul trouble. "I had to play a lineup we never play because of that situation. That was part of the challenge."
Auburn (6-1) took control with midway through the final half, partly because of the shooting of freshman Danjel Purifoy, who hit 3-of-4 three-pointers in the second half. UAB lost Cokley for good with 8:24 remaining when the junior forward was whistled for a personal foul and technical foul. He left the game with eight points and seven rebounds.
"If someone told me Chris Cokley would have only played 16 minutes, I would have said it would be difficult to win," Ehsan said. "He's, obviously, our leading scorer inside."
Auburn stretched the lead to as many as 11 points before UAB started chipping away. The Blazers trimmed the deficit to six points with 3:22 left on a Williams 3-pointer and at the 2:08 mark on a Lavender layup. The Blazers then used a 5-0 run, with all the points coming on free throws, to trim the deficit to 71-68 with 20.5 seconds left.
The Tigers were able to ice the game with a free throw by Harper with seven seconds remaining.
"This team is different," Ehsan said. "I told the guys, we have to continue to grow and develop as a different team from last year. Offensively, we've got to continue to get better and more sharp."
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