Jackson, Walker Lead UAB to Conference USA Semifinals

Thursday, March 10

Frisco, Texas

8:30 p.m.

UAB

-257,144 CUSA

Florida Atlantic

-1914,117 CUSA

Fla. Atlantic

UAB

Photo by: Mario Terrana

Jackson, Walker Lead UAB to Conference USA Semifinals

3/11/2022 12:25:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Postgame Press Conference

FRISCO, Texas – Guards Jordan Walker and Quan Jackson once again recorded stellar outings against Florida Atlantic to lead UAB to an 80-66 victory over the Owls in Thursday night's Conference USA Championships quarterfinal matchup at The Star.

UAB (25-7) clinched a spot in the Conference USA Championships semifinals for the second straight season for the first time since the Blazers went to back-to-back semifinals in 2004-05 and 2005-06. The Blazers will face Middle Tennessee (23-9) in Friday's semifinal matchup. Friday's tipoff against the Blue Raiders is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will stream live on CBS Sports Network.

Walker paced the Blazers with 18 points in the opening 20 minutes, going 4-of-5 from behind the 3-point line in the opening half. Jackson also impressed in the opening half, tallying 14 points to go along with a first-half high seven rebounds to lead UAB to a 47-35 lead at the half.

The Blazers shot a blistering 7-of-11 (63.6%) from behind the 3-point line in the first half with Walker (four), Jackson (two) and Michael Ertel (one) combining for the seven UAB 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes. The Blazers also dominated the glass in the first half, outrebounding the Owls 20-11 in the first half.

The Blazers continued their hot shooting in the second half, extending their lead back out to 17 points at 54-37 with 18:27 remaining when Ertel drilled another 3-pointer. UAB would stretch its lead to as many as 22 points in the second half Ertel again knocked down a 3-pointer, making it 67-45 Blazers with 13:26 left on the clock.

Florida Atlantic (19-14) would slowly trim UAB's advantage to eight points when Giancarlo Rosado knocked down two free throws to make it 71-63 UAB with 6:39 remaining. Ertel and Walker then nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to ice Thursday night's quarterfinal matchup, stretching the Green and Gold's lead to 77-63 with 2:09 left on the clock.

Jackson, who set a career-high with 29 points in UAB's regular season victory over Florida Atlantic, set a new career-high with 14 rebounds on Thursday. Jackson finished with his third double-double of the season, pouring in 20 points to go along with 14 rebounds and three assists.

Walker (26) led all scorers to tally his 16^th 20-point performance of the season. In two games against Florida Atlantic this season, Walker and Jackson combined to score 102 points.

UAB dominated the glass in Thursday night's win, outrebounding Florida Atlantic 43-27 with 14 offensive boards. The Blazers also exceled from behind the arc, going 12-of-26 (46.2%) over the full 40 minutes.

The Blazers will face No. 1 seed in the East Middle Tennessee in Friday's semifinal matchup. Friday's matchup against the Blue Raiders is set to begin at 2 p.m. and will be broadcasted live on CBS Sports Network.

MEN'S BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION
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