The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
-97, 21 CUSA
Rice
-116, 13 CUSA
Blazers Clinch Win Over Rice in Overtime
1/7/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
USATSI Gallery 
HOUSTON, Texas - It took an extra five minutes for UAB to pull out a gutsy 88-81 Conference USA overtime victory over Rice on Saturday night at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston.
For UAB head coach Robert Ehsan it felt much longer.
"I feel about five years older, " joked Ehsan while talking to David Crane on his radio appearance following the thrilling victory.
That's not surprising after a game which included a potential game-winning 3-pointer by UAB senior Denzell Watts erased 2.5 seconds later when Rice's Egor Koulechov was fouled while attempting a wild 3-pointer. Koulechov made all three free throws to send the game into overtime.
For some teams, the disappointment of losing the lead in that fashion would have been too much to overcome. For the Blazers, who sport a veteran roster, it made them more determined.
"It was pretty much, `They're not going to give it to us, we got to take it,'" Watts said of the mood in the huddle before overtime. "That was the main thing. We came in there to take it, we wanted it way more than them and we proved it."
UAB (9-7 overall, 2-1 C-USA) never trailed in the extra period, partly because of the Blazers' defense. The Blazers not only held Rice (11-6 overall, 1-3 C-USA) without an overtime field goal for the first 4:51 of overtime but they also forced three consecutive turnovers on steals by Deion Lavender, Javien Williams and Hakeem Baxter.
While that was going on, the Blazers turned an 81-78 lead into an 86-78 advantage by hitting 5-of-6 free throws. Lavender made the second of two free throws with 53.6 seconds remaining before Baxter hit four consecutive free throws to give UAB the eight point lead with 15 seconds left. Baxter drained two more free throws after Rice's only overtime bucket from the field to provide the final Blazer point and finish a free throwing shooting exhibition by UAB. The Blazers combined to make 30 free throws in 33 attempts.
"Man, I can't believe 30-of-33, that's an unbelievable percentage," Ehsan said. "We made timely ones. That was a big part of the win."
It was actually just one big part of a big win. Javien Williams' first half performance helped UAB keep the game close in the first half. The freshman had 11 of his 14 points in the first half as UAB overcame some sluggish offensive moments in the first 20 minutes to keep the game tied at 36 at the break.
"He gave us some momentum when we kind of went into a scoring lull," Ehsan said.
In the second half, it was the defense that helped the Blazers keep an explosive Rice offense from doing big things. The Owls two leaders - Koulechov and Marcus Evans - combined for 52 points but none of that came easily. Koulechov took 21 shots from the field and was just 3-of-10 on 3-pointers. Evans committed seven of the Owls' 21 turnovers.
"I thought we had (some) unbelievable individual performances defensively," said Ehsan, whose team had 11 steals. "Deion with four steals, Javien was good, Hak (Baxter) in the second half, after (first half) foul trouble, really wore Evans down and Ha Ha (Lee) guarded Egor most of the game. (For Lee) to play as well as he did, I thought was really big time."
Lee led UAB with 20 points and it was his 3-point bank shot at the shot clock buzzer that tied the game up at 66 with just over four minutes left. After a Rice free throw, Lee tipped in his own miss to give UAB the lead. Baxter followed with a three-point play following his steal to give the Blazers a 71-67 lead with 2:47 left.
Rice was able to tie the game with 13.9 seconds left. Watts answered with what appeared to be a game-winner from long range but that was erased by Koulechov's free throws. However, UAB was able to win the game in overtime.
"So much resilience by our team," Ehsan said. "It's been difficult, you know, we had some struggles. I told the guys after they got the free throws to go to overtime that this is supposed to be hard."
Chris Cokley had 12 points and 12 rebounds, marking UAB's second double-double of the season.
Following the win, UAB celebrated back-to-back wins for the first time in the regular season. It also put an end to a profitable road trip to Texas that included a 54-52 win over North Texas on Thursday night that ended with Lee's game-winning three-point play in the final seconds.
"I wish it wouldn't have taken until January 7," Ehsan said of the winning streak. "But it feels good, this was a good win. I told the team, we've got to keep building off this."
