The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
VCU
Men's Basketball Defeats Virginia Commonwealth, 68-58
12/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec 18, 2003
RICHMOND, Va. - Donell Taylor scored eight of his 15 points during an 18-1 run on Thursday as the UAB Blazers went on to defeat Virginia Commonwealth, 68-58, here Thursday night. The win improved the Blazers to 4-2, while VCU dropped to 5-2.
"This was a hard fought win," UAB head coach Mike Anderson said. "I felt we were able to get the game going in our tempo. With our team, we have a lot of guys who can play. Our team is bigger than two players and that was evident tonight. I thought our bench played really well and we had some players step up tonight."
Morris Finley, UAB's leading scorer, did not dress tonight due to a shoulder injury, while sophomore reserve Brandon Tobias also sat out due to flu-like symptoms.
The game was tied at 32 with 1:18 left in the first half following a Jesse Pellot-Rosa free throw, but Sidney Ball hit two free throws and Ronell Taylor made a layup at the buzzer to give the Blazers a 36-32 lead at the halftime.
UAB scored 14 of the first 15 points in the second half to take a 50-33 lead with 12:36 remaining. The Rams could get not closer than 10.
Ronell Taylor had 13 points, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. Ball, Gabe Kennedy and Richard Jones each scored 10 for the Blazers.
Domonic Jones scored 16 of his 22 points for the Rams in the first half. Pellot-Rosa added 13 points, but no other Virginia Commonwealth player scored above 7.
The Blazers will next be in action when they battle Alabama A&M on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 7:30 p.m. in Bartow Arena.
