The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Tuesday, November 6
Bartow Arena
7 p.m.
UAB
1-0
75
vs
67
Mercer
0-1
1
2
F
Mercer
25
42
67
UAB
34
41
75
Late Free Throws Help UAB to 75-67 Season-Opening Win Over Mercer
11/7/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM – With less than two minutes to play in the game and Mercer mounting a comeback, the UAB men's basketball team stepped up to the charity stripe and knocked down clutch free throws to clinch a 75-67 season-opening win over Mercer on Tuesday.
Needing to hold off a late rally by Mercer, five different Blazers stepped up and helped UAB go 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the final 1:54 of the game to seal the win.
With the victory, UAB (1-0) is now 27-13 in season openers and 34-7 in home openers since the program began 40 years ago. The Blazers' victory also marked the first over Mercer in program history and improved UAB to 20-4 against opponents from the Southern Conference.
Senior Jalen Perry led a quartet of Blazers who finished the game in double figures with 16 points, 12 of those coming in the second half, while sophomore Zack Bryant picked up where he left off last season with 12 points and a game-high five assists.
Newcomer Tavin Lovan and senior Lewis Sullivan each added 10 points, with Lovan adding seven boards in his official UAB debut and Sullivan hauling in six rebounds of his own. Makhtar Gueye fell one point shy of a double-double, scoring nine points and taking in 10 rebounds.
As was the case in the team's two exhibition games, the offense came to life in the second half, going 44.0 percent (11-of-25) from the field to finish the game shooting 38.9 percent (21-of-54) from the floor. The Blazers' ability to win the glass also played a huge factor in the win as they outrebounded the Bears, 46-34, in second-chance points.
UAB's defense came up big as well, forcing 18 Mercer turnovers while recording eight steals and six blocks. The Blazers held the Bears to a 35.6 percent (21-of-59) shooting night.
Mercer (0-1) was led by Djordje Dimitrijevic, who finished with a game-high 19 points and three assists.
Neither team found an advantage in the opening half until the 9:50 mark when Mercer strung together a 9-2 run over a four-minute stretch to open a 16-10 lead. UAB put together a great response, using a 14-2 run over the next four minutes that was capped off by a monster alley-oop by Lovan to flip the deficit in favor of the Blazers, 24-18.
UAB saw its lead grow to as many has nine points throughout the remainder of the half and eventually took a 34-25 advantage into the locker room after two made free throws by Sullivan with less than a second on the clock.
The Blazer offense continued to click at the beginning of the second half, pushing their lead to 46-31 at the 14:15 mark following made free throws from Bryant. Mercer began to swing the momentum, though, as an 8-0 run cut that lead to 46-40 in four-minutes time.
Needing a big spark, Perry stepped up and injected the spark UAB needed by hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead back out to double figures, 57-46, with under eight minutes remaining.
UAB held a double-digit advantage until the final two minutes of the game when Mercer attempted a last-ditch effort to get back into the contest with a 12-3 run that trimmed the lead to 71-65 with 35 seconds to play. Despite not hitting a field goal in that stretch, the Blazers went 9-of-10 from the charity stripe to hold off the Bears' comeback attempt and seal the season-opening 75-67 victory.
The team remains at home for its next game when it welcomes the New Orleans Privateers to Bartow Arena on November 14. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. on CUSA.tv.
Individual season tickets for the 2018-19 UAB men's basketball campaign are on sale and start as low as $105 in Blaze's Corner. New this season is the Family Four Pack which includes four season tickets for a total cost of $400 along with the Flex Pack for $125. Mini plans are also now available here. For more information, call the UAB Athletics ticket office at 205-975-UAB1.
For more information on the UAB men's basketball team follow the Blazers on Twitter and Instagram (@UAB_MBB).
Needing to hold off a late rally by Mercer, five different Blazers stepped up and helped UAB go 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the final 1:54 of the game to seal the win.
With the victory, UAB (1-0) is now 27-13 in season openers and 34-7 in home openers since the program began 40 years ago. The Blazers' victory also marked the first over Mercer in program history and improved UAB to 20-4 against opponents from the Southern Conference.
Senior Jalen Perry led a quartet of Blazers who finished the game in double figures with 16 points, 12 of those coming in the second half, while sophomore Zack Bryant picked up where he left off last season with 12 points and a game-high five assists.
Newcomer Tavin Lovan and senior Lewis Sullivan each added 10 points, with Lovan adding seven boards in his official UAB debut and Sullivan hauling in six rebounds of his own. Makhtar Gueye fell one point shy of a double-double, scoring nine points and taking in 10 rebounds.
As was the case in the team's two exhibition games, the offense came to life in the second half, going 44.0 percent (11-of-25) from the field to finish the game shooting 38.9 percent (21-of-54) from the floor. The Blazers' ability to win the glass also played a huge factor in the win as they outrebounded the Bears, 46-34, in second-chance points.
UAB's defense came up big as well, forcing 18 Mercer turnovers while recording eight steals and six blocks. The Blazers held the Bears to a 35.6 percent (21-of-59) shooting night.
Mercer (0-1) was led by Djordje Dimitrijevic, who finished with a game-high 19 points and three assists.
Neither team found an advantage in the opening half until the 9:50 mark when Mercer strung together a 9-2 run over a four-minute stretch to open a 16-10 lead. UAB put together a great response, using a 14-2 run over the next four minutes that was capped off by a monster alley-oop by Lovan to flip the deficit in favor of the Blazers, 24-18.
UAB saw its lead grow to as many has nine points throughout the remainder of the half and eventually took a 34-25 advantage into the locker room after two made free throws by Sullivan with less than a second on the clock.
The Blazer offense continued to click at the beginning of the second half, pushing their lead to 46-31 at the 14:15 mark following made free throws from Bryant. Mercer began to swing the momentum, though, as an 8-0 run cut that lead to 46-40 in four-minutes time.
Needing a big spark, Perry stepped up and injected the spark UAB needed by hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead back out to double figures, 57-46, with under eight minutes remaining.
UAB held a double-digit advantage until the final two minutes of the game when Mercer attempted a last-ditch effort to get back into the contest with a 12-3 run that trimmed the lead to 71-65 with 35 seconds to play. Despite not hitting a field goal in that stretch, the Blazers went 9-of-10 from the charity stripe to hold off the Bears' comeback attempt and seal the season-opening 75-67 victory.
The team remains at home for its next game when it welcomes the New Orleans Privateers to Bartow Arena on November 14. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. on CUSA.tv.
Individual season tickets for the 2018-19 UAB men's basketball campaign are on sale and start as low as $105 in Blaze's Corner. New this season is the Family Four Pack which includes four season tickets for a total cost of $400 along with the Flex Pack for $125. Mini plans are also now available here. For more information, call the UAB Athletics ticket office at 205-975-UAB1.
For more information on the UAB men's basketball team follow the Blazers on Twitter and Instagram (@UAB_MBB).
Team Stats
MER
UAB
FG%
.356
.389
3FG%
.231
.174
FT%
.760
.829
RB
34
46
TO
18
18
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's BasketballForward
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