Lendeborg Records UAB’s First 30-20 Game to Lead Blazers Past ECU

Friday, March 14

Fort Worth, Texas

8 p.m.

UAB

21-11,13-5AAC

East Carolina

19-14,10-8AAC

East Carolina

UAB

Photo by: Mario Terrana

Lendeborg Records UAB’s First 30-20 Game to Lead Blazers Past ECU

3/15/2025 1:07:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Postgame Presser

FORT WORTH – Yaxel Lendeborg led UAB men's basketball (21-11) past East Carolina (19-14) by a score of 94-77 to advance to the American Conference Tournament Semifinals.

Lendeborg finished with a career high 30 points, 20 rebounds, eight assists, five steals and four blocks in one of the most dominant performances in UAB basketball history. He is the first Blazer to ever record a 30-point, 20-rebound game and he is the first player to do so in the American Conference Tournament.

After falling behind 7-2 early, the Blazers went on a 17-2 run to jump ahead by double-digits. Lendeborg had six points and nine rebounds as the Blazers took a 19-9 lead at the 12:22 mark.

The Blazers went on another 8-0 run later in the half to jump out to a 44-27 lead after Tyren Moore and Efrem "Butta" Johnson knocked down back-to-back threes. Lendeborg then knocked down a three with 19 seconds left in the half to give UAB its largest lead to that point at 49-31. Felton hit a pair of free throws with just over one second left to make it a 49-33 game at the break.

Lendeborg picked up right where he left off in the second half, scoring on the first possession, but the Pirates did not go away. ECU scored eight straight points to make it a 10-point game with 18 minutes remaining.

RJ Felton scored 19 of his 31 points in the second half to help East Carolina get back in the game. The Pirates were able to work the Blazers' lead down to single digits with under four minutes remaining and Felton made it a 76-69 game with a pair of free throws.

The Pirates then elected to intentionally foul Ja'Borri McGhee on consecutive possessions, but McGhee knocked down all four free throws to maintain the Blazer lead.

The Blazers were able to pull away in the final moments, closing the contest on a 7-0 run to take the 94-77 victory and advance to face North Texas in the semifinals.

NOTES

Yaxel Lendeborg is the first Blazer to ever record a 30-20 game and the first player to do so in the American Conference Tournament.
Lendeborg set career highs in points (30) and steals (5) while also matching his career best in assists (8). Additionally, he finished just one rebound shy of his career best rebounding total.
He is the first Blazer to score 30 points in a game since Ty Brewer scored 30 on March 28, 2023 against Utah Valley in the NIT.
Lendeborg has reached 345 rebounds on the season, which is second in program history for a single season, trailing only his own total during the 2023-24 season.
He also became just the eighth Blazer to ever surpass 700 rebounds at UAB.
Tony Toney recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and a career best 10 boards.

UP NEXT
The Blazers will face No. 2 North Texas in the American Conference Semifinals on Saturday, March 15. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

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As we launch into the 2025 giving year, we encourage you to further your support across UAB Athletics and help the Blazers reach new heights in the American Athletic Conference. For more information on ways to show your generosity to Blazer student athletes through the Blazer Scholarship Fund, capital initiatives, and sport specific giving go to blazerboosters.com or call us at (205) 996-9969.

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