The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
11-7, 4-1
WKU
11-8, 4-2
Mehinti, Lee Lead UAB to Third Straight Victory
1/12/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- William Lee didn't hesitate when asked if Thursday night's 72-54 Conference USA victory over visiting WKU was the Blazers' best game of the season.
"By far," was Lee's succinct answer.
Lee also was quick to note one of the key reasons for the Blazers dominating performance at Bartow Arena.
"We just had in the back of our minds, before the season even started, that they knocked us out of the conference tournament," Lee said of the 88-77setback to WKU in the C-USA Tournament quarterfinals last March. "We had a target on their back and just wanted revenge. We came out and played as hard as we could."
It also didn't hurt that the Blazers' most complete game of the season came at the same time that Tosin Mehinti put together his signature game -- thus far -- of his senior season. The 6-foot-9 Mehinti scored 17 points, on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line, and grabbed seven rebounds. He also blocked two shots, dished out three assists, grabbed one steal and contributed consistent energy in 23 minutes. Mehinti also played a big role in keeping WKU forward Justin Johnson, who had 12 points, from having a big night.
"It energized us a lot," said Lee. "We've been waiting on that. Tosin came through and played the game we know he can play."
UAB head coach Robert Ehsan was also waiting for that type of effort from Mehinti, who came in averaging 5.9 points and 4.2 rebounds.
"He was due," said Ehsan, whose team had a 44-18 advantage in points in the paint. "I think he's been practicing well, he's been ready. I knew this was going to come, I didn't know at what point. Obviously, he was a force and not just the 17 points. He was blocking shots, he was affecting shots, he was physical. I was really proud of Tosin."
It didn't take Mehinti long to make an impact in Thursday's game. He opened the Blazers' scoring with a three-point play, slammed home a dunk after a nice feed from Hakeem Baxter and hit a reverse layup to provide UAB's first seven points of the contest.
"When your shots are going in early, it's like `Oh yeah, it's going to be a good day,'" Mehinti said after the Blazers improved to 10-7 overall and 3-1 in C-USA.
His good day played a big part in helping the Blazers build a 30-20 lead at halftime. Another big part of the first half surge was a defense that never really allowed WKU to get into an offensive rhythm. The Hilltoppers (9-9 overall, 3-2 C-USA) shot just 29.6 percent in the first half.
"I thought the first half, defensively we were as good as we've been all year," Ehsan said. "I thought it was probably the best 20 minutes of defense against a quality opponent that we've played all year."
In the second half, Mehinti, Lee and the offense helped the Blazers pull away. Mehinti scored eight of the team's first 15 points in the second half. About the only thing that slowed him down -- all evening -- was foul trouble that limited his second half minutes.
Lee more than took up the slack when Mehinti was on the bench. Lee finished with a team-high 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field, including 2-of-3 from outside the 3-point stripe, and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. He also added seven rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot with no turnovers.
It was Lee, who scored the final five points of a 7-0 run that gave UAB the biggest lead of the night at 59-32 with 11:13 left in the game.
The Blazers went on to complete the team's third consecutive victory.
"We're still only four games into conference, there's a long way to go, but there was a feeling tonight on the court, that this team's had in the past, of championship basketball," said Ehsan, whose team shot 51 percent from the field. "There was certain points and periods of this game that I felt it as a coach and they felt it. Part of that was the ball going in the basket. I think that's starting to fuel some confidence amongst the guys."
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