The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Cincinnati
Blazers' Season Comes To An End At Cincinnati
11/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 30, 2002
CINCINNATI, Ohio ----- Despite its best rushing performance of the season, UAB saw Cincinnati score a pair of touchdowns in the final nine minutes of the game as the Bearcats rallied for a 31-23 Conference USA victory over the Blazers.
UAB (5-7, 4-4 C-USA) saw its 2002 season come to an end after entering the game in hopes of securing one of the league's five bowl opportunities. Cincinnati (6-6, 5-2 C-USA) kept its postseason hopes alive as it heads to East Carolina for its final regular season game next weekend.
The Blazers had taken a 23-16 lead at the 11:21 mark of the fourth quarter when PK Nick Hayes booted his third field goal of the game - a 27-yarder. But from then on, it was all Cincinnati.
"We played well today," said UAB head coach Watson Brown. "We set it up for the victory, but we just couldn't finish. We got it into the fourth quarter and got a six-point lead. And it could have been more, but it wasn't. From that point on, they dominated."
Bearcat senior RB Demarco McCleskey scored his second and third touchdowns of the game in the final quarter, the game-winner on a 14-yard run with 3:30 remaining.
UAB had a final shot on the next possession, but pass protection breakdowns resulted in a pair of sacks on QB Darrell Hackney and Cincinnati held on for the victory.
The Blazers had surprised Cincinnati with its success running the ball as they ran for a season-high 239 yards. True freshman Dan Burks capped off his first season with another outstanding effort, running for 80 yards to finish the campaign with 554. Kendal Gibson, who scored one of the team's two touchdowns, finished the afternoon with 79 yards on 13 carries while QB Thomas Cox, playing his final game at UAB, ran for 61 yards. Cox's first quarter touchdown - an eight-yard run - gave UAB an early 7-0 lead.
UAB kept Cincinnati guessing most of the game as the Blazers utilized both Hackney and Cox in their lineup, and sometimes both at the same time.
The game was played in frigid conditions at Nippert Stadium, including intermittent snow flurries during the contest.
