The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Alabama A&M
Blazers Push Past Alabama A&M, 81-68
12/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec 20, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Gabe Kennedy scored 15 points, including eight during a second-half spurt that pushed UAB past Alabama A&M 81-68 on Saturday night. With the win, the Blazers improve to 5-2 on the campaign, while the Bulldogs drop to 2-5.
"We are happy with with this win," UAB head coach Mike Anderson said. "You have to give Alabama A&M credit because they never quit. The disappointing this is that we had too many turnovers. That is the thing I have been trying to get our guys to clean up. I thought our defense was very good tonight. Once we got into our transition game, I think we were able to find our rhythm."
Reserve guard Derrick Broom scored a career-high 12 points, while sophomore Demario Eddins recorded his second career double-double, combining for 10 points and 11 boards. Donell Taylor and Marques Lewis each had 10 apiece for UAB, while Sidney Ball recorded 11 rebounds, six assists and a steal on the night.
Terry Horton scored 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting for Alabama A&M (2-5), while Obie Trotter was 6-of-16 for 13 points. Rickey Ricketts had 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting for the Bulldogs, who hit 35 percent as a team.
UAB played for the second game in a row without leading scorer Mo Finley, who is out with a shoulder injury.
The Blazers did not appear to miss him early, jumping to a 19-2 lead. But Alabama A&M switched to a zone defense, and UAB began to struggle with its outside shooting. The Blazers led 37-26 at halftime despite hitting only 1 of 14 3-pointers in the first period.
The Blazers' cold shooting continued as they missed their first four 3-point attempts in the second half. That helped A&M close to within 39-32.
But Kennedy scored eight straight points to spark a 12-2 run that put UAB in control for good. UAB went on to build a 25-point lead, with Broom scoring nine points to put the game away.
The Blazers will next be in action when they face Louisiana Tech on Tuesday, Dec. 23, at 7:30 p.m. in Bartow Arena.
