The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Georgia Southern
Men's Basketball Defeats Georgia Southern, 94-73
11/24/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov 24, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -Senior guard Morris Finley and junior transfer Ronell Taylor scored 15 points apiece to lead UAB (1-0) to a 94-73 victory over Georgia Southern (1-1) on Monday night. It was the Blazers' seventh season-opening win in the last eight years.
Seniors Sidney Ball and Gabe Kennedy each contributed double-doubles on the evening. Kennedy had 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Ball had 11 points and a career-best 14 rebounds. The Blazers had to wait until its eighth game of the season last year before they had a player record a double-double, and recorded just six throughout the campaign.
"For this team to be successful, our defense has got to be productive," UAB head coach Mike Anderson said. "I thought our big guys came out and took the fight to Georgia Southern, especially in the second half. We have that inside presence that we did not have last year."
Taylor, making his UAB debut along with twin brother Donell Taylor, scored 10 points in the first half as the Blazers jumped to a 43-27 halftime lead.
Elton Nesbitt scored 15 points and Terry Williams and Frank Bennett had 14 each to lead Georgia Southern.
Donell Taylor collected nine points and was one of 11 players to play doule digit minutes on the evening. Carldell Johnson had game-highs of eight assists and three steals in 21 minutes of action. Of the Blazers 16 players on the squad, 14 of scored at least one point.
Both teams played up-tempo styles, making frequent use of pressure defense, both finishing with 25 turnovers and 12 steals. Last season, UAB led the nation in steals per game (11.6), while forcing opponents into an average of 21.3 turnovers per contest.
Georgia Southern jumped to an 8-4 lead but a 3-pointer by Finley put UAB in front, and the Blazers never trailed again.
UAB lead grew to 20 points, at 49-29, early in the second half. But Nesbitt and Williams sparked a Georgia Southern rally that made it 62-55 at 8:31 left in the game.
After a timeout, UAB went on a 13-0 run to put the game away.
The Blazers will next be in action when they play host to the Spiders of Richmond on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 7:30 p.m. in Bartow Arena.
