The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Basketball Team Travels To TCU
2/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
TCU enters Tuesday night's contest with an overall record of 8-15 and stand 2-9 in conference play. The Horned Frogs have struggled as of late, dropping five of their last six contests and nine of their last 11. The Horned Frogs currently stand at 6-5 at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. TCU is led by senior Junior Blount and sophomore Corey Santee. Blount leads the team with 17.2 ppg and 1.6 steals per contest. Santee averages 17.0 ppg and leads the team with 116 assists (5.0/game). Senior Bingo Merriex also averages double-figure scoring with 12.7 ppg and is second on the team with 7.6 rebounds per game. Senior Jamal Brown is close to averaging a double-double with 9.2 points and team-best 8.6 rebounds per game.
UAB enters the game coming off a disappointing 94-70 loss at Memphis on Saturday. The Blazers had three players score in double figures, led by Mo Finley's 18 points. Richard Jones tied his career-high with 16 off the bench and Demario Eddins added 12 points, placing him as UAB's freshman single-season scoring record holder with 220 on the season. Eddins surpassed former Blazer Damon Cobb who scored 212 points in his freshman season in 1995.
The Blazers and Horned Frogs will meet for the second time this season. In the first meeting, the Blazers captured an 84-82 overtime decision over TCU in Bartow Arena on Jan. 29. Jeffrey Collins hit a 3-pointer and two free throws in the final 26 seconds of overtime to seal the win. UAB hit only 2-of-23 3-point attempts, while TCU was 12-for-18 on 3-pointers. But UAB forced 25 TCU turnovers, 18 of them in the second half. Gabe Kennedy scored 23 points and Demario Eddins had 22, both career highs. Junior Blount led TCU with 22 points and Corey Santee added 20.
The game can be heard live on 1070 WAPI-AM, with the pregame show beginning at approximately 6:30 p.m. Gary Sanders - who will be calling his 750th UAB basketball game - will handle play-by-play, Matt Coulter will be the color analyst and Jon Gentile will produce the broadcast. The postgame show will follow immediately after the game. The game can also be heard by accessing the UAB website at www.uabsports.com.
