The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
24-5, 14-2
WKU
14-15, 6-10
Blazers Top WKU, Clinch C-USA Championship
2/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2016
Final Stats |
UAB vs. WKU 
Box Score (PDF) | Postgame Quotes
By Steve Irvine, UABSports.com
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB men's basketball team clinched at least a tie for the Conference USA regular-season title and made sure Robert's Brown Senior Day was one to celebrate with a 71-67 victory over Western Kentucky before a noisy and appreciative crowd of 7,510 at Bartow Arena.
Afterward, on the Bartow Arena court where UAB won for the 25th consecutive time, the Blazers held emotional Senior Day festivities for Brown. After Brown, who scored a team-high 12 points in his home finale, spoke to the crowd, UAB head coach Jerod Haase took the mic and explained that no nets would be cut down at Bartow Arena because work still needs to be done to win a C-USA title outright. Haase then brought the entire team to midcourt to soak in a few more minutes of applause from the home crowd.
A few minutes later, Haase met the media and wrapped up what Saturday meant for his program.
"A combination of securing at least a share of the conference championship, sending Robert Brown out in the right way and ending the conference season -- at home anyway -- with a win: All those things made today truly special," Haase said. "I'm awfully excited for the team. The crowd was fantastic as always."
While Brown was in the spotlight, it was Tosin Mehinti who made some crucial plays in the final minutes that helped the Blazers finish unbeaten at home in C-USA play for the second consecutive season. Mehinti scored five points in the final four minutes and also had the game's key defensive play when he stripped the ball from Western Kentucky's Justin Johnson with just under 30 seconds left and the Blazers clinging to a 67-64 lead.
"When Tosin is playing at a high level, this team goes to another level," Haase said. "When Tosin is inside, getting offensive rebounds and put backs, it does add another element to our team. You start getting multiple guys as threats on the inside; now it even opens up more on the outside. Today, he was huge."
UAB (24-5 overall, 14-2 C-USA) needed every contribution it could get to hold off a Western Kentucky team that beat the Blazers when the teams met in Bowling Green. In the rematch, the Hilltoppers (14-15 overall, 6-10 C-USA) used a 14-0 run early in the game to help build a 21-10 advantage.
The Blazers scratched back, largely because of Lewis Sullivan's play off the bench. The 6-foot-7 sophomore scored six of his 10 points midway through the first half to help the Blazers get back in front. It was back-to-back 3-pointers by Brown and Nick Norton that finally put UAB back in the lead at 27-25 with 3:51 left in the half.
"I just know we started off a little slow so Coach (Haase) just told us we had to come in and provide energy," Sullivan said of his contribution. "I just started getting low post position and getting my shots off."
UAB led 31-29 at halftime and eventually opened up a double-digit lead, with Brown's 17-foot jumper making it 59-49 with 6:43 left. However, a minute later, Brown went to the bench with his fourth foul, and the lead started to disintegrate.
Western Kentucky scored five consecutive points to make things uneasy for the Blazers. Mehinti responded with a follow dunk, a free throw and three-point play over the next two minutes to help UAB build the advantage back to 67-59.
Once again, though, the Hilltoppers refused to go away, countering with five successive points. UAB was clinging to the three-point lead when the Blazers turned the ball over on a shot-clock violation with 40.9 seconds left. The Hilltoppers worked the ball inside to Johnson, who appeared to have a layup opportunity before Mehinti knocked the ball out of his hands. Mehinti dove on the floor for the loose ball and was able to call a timeout with 24.8 seconds left while keeping the ball away from Johnson and other Western Kentucky players.
Western Kentucky head coach Ray Harper was whistled for a technical foul after the timeout. Norton hit 1-of-2 free throws and Hakeem Baxter hit another free throw two seconds later. William Lee closed the UAB scoring nine seconds later.
Afterward, Brown talked about his Senior Day experience.
"It's kind of hard because it's overwhelming," Brown said when asked to describe the final seconds of the win.
He didn't have trouble describing what Haase has meant to him as a person and a coach.
"Coach Haase means everything," Brown said, his voice starting to crack. "His trusting in me and just being able to put this team in my hands and let them play -- it's one of those things that's just unbelievable."
It won't take anybody in the UAB program long to turn the page and get ready for the final road trip with games against FIU on Thursday and FAU on Saturday.
"We have to go down to Florida, where we haven't had success in my last two years and play well down there," Haase said. "The idea is that this is a journey. It's not a destination, like the quote says; it's not over today. It's just one step in process. When we go down to Florida, that's the next step in the process."
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).
