Blazers Down Florida Atlantic; Advance to C-USA Quarterfinals

Wednesday, March 7

Frisco, Texas

9:00 PM

UAB

20-12 (10-8)

Florida Atlantic

12-19 (6-12)

Florida Atlantic

UAB

Blazers Down Florida Atlantic; Advance to C-USA Quarterfinals

3/7/2018 11:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

FRISCO, Texas – UAB trailed for just 14 seconds during Wednesday night's 83-72 victory over 11th seed Florida Atlantic in the first round of the Conference USA Men's Basketball Tournament at the Ford Center at The Star.

That deficit came during the opening minute of the game. William Lee erased it quickly with a 3-pointer and the No. 6 seed Blazers (20-12) were off and running. It wasn't always pretty but it was more than enough for UAB to survive and advance to Thursday night's quarterfinal matchup with No. 3 seed WKU.

"If you take away the last five minutes, we played a really, really, really good game," said UAB head coach Robert Ehsan.

It was a particularly good night for UAB freshman guard Zack Bryant and seniors Lee and Chris Cokley. Bryant, who was playing in his first postseason game as a college player, contributed a career-best 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field, 2-of-4 on 3-point attempts and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. He also added six rebounds, two assists and one turnover in 34 minutes.

"Just so efficient," Ehsan said. "He let the game come to him, he wasn't pressing. He took his shots when he had them. That was the most impressive thing. It was a quiet 25 points, to me."

Lee and Cokley each played like a pair of seniors trying to make sure their college careers continue. Lee had 20 points, four 3-pointers, six rebounds and two blocked shots in 25 minutes. Cokley had 15 points, 10 rebounds, an assist and two blocked shots in 28 minutes.

Cokley's hot hand in the first half sparked the Blazers to a 40-30 lead at halftime. He had 12 points and seven rebounds before halftime. Six of his points came over the final three minutes of the half.

Lee opened the second half with an impressive run of a 17-foot jumper, a 3-pointer from the left wing and a 3-pointer from well beyond the top of the key. The second 3-pointer gave UAB a 48-35 lead. FAU (12-19) hit one of two free throws before Bryant scored seven consecutive points and Nate Darling converted a layup to give the Blazers a 57-36 lead with 15:23 remaining.

"When we shoot the basketball like that, in particular William Lee, we play really well," Ehsan said.

Soon after that run, Ehsan sent Cokley, Lee and Bryant in the bench to limit their minutes, so they could stay as fresh as possible during what can be a grueling tournament. FAU took advantage of their absence to crawl back to within 13 points with just over 10 minutes in the game.

Ehsan hustled those three back in the game and Bryant responded immediately with a three-pointer. That began a quick 10-2 run that also included a 3-pointer and layup by Bryant and a 15-foot bucket by Cokley.

UAB hurt itself with turnovers down the stretch but FAU was never able to get closer than nine points.

Point guard Nick Norton had a solid game for the Blazers, even though he just three points and missed all three of his 3-point attempts. Norton had eight assists, five rebounds and just one turnover in 26 minutes. Over the past four games, Norton has 28 assists and one turnover.

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