The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Montevallo
UAB Men's Basketball Team Wins Exhibition Opener
11/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 11, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team didn't quite look like the Blazers who made their run last March into the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16, but head coach Mike Anderson still saw plenty of good things as his team won its exhibition opener here Thursday, downing Montevallo, 77-64, in Bartow Arena.
The Blazers, who shared the Conference USA championship and finished with a 22-10 record, used a 9-2 run to open the second half and stretch an 8-point halftime lead to 15 over the Falcons just 1:50 into the second period. Montevallo was not able to cut the UAB margin back into single digits the rest of the way.
"I thought we had some jitters going on, a little bit of nerves," said Anderson, who won conference coach-of-the-year honors in 2004. "But Richard (Jones) got us off to a good start. We had some guys who had some bright moments. I though Ernest (Little) came in and continued to play well. I thought Marvett (McDonald), for his first game, did some good things. But there's no question about it, you could see the rust on us, especially with the timing of everything."
Jones led UAB's scorers with 12 points and helped the Blazers jump to a 7-0 lead just two and a half minutes into the game. But the Falcons came back with a 13-6 run of their own to tie the game. Derrick Brook and McDonald hit three-pointers late in the first half to help UAB open a 39-31 lead at intermission.
Montevallo, which won the Division II Gulf South Conference championship last year, gave a valiant effort, getting a game-high 18 points from junior James Hall, but did not threaten down the stretch.
"They (Montevallo) were hungry," said Anderson. "They're right up the street, so it's just like the old boy in your neighborhood. It was a golden opportunity and that "UAB" means something now. And that's something that our guys understand. We¹re going to get everybody's best shot this year. At the same time, we have to match everyone¹s intensity level."
Marques Lewis and Donell Taylor (10 points each) joined Jones as double-figure scorers for the Blazers. Ronell Taylor led the UAB rebounders with seven.
Overall, Montevallo out-rebounded UAB by a 45-33 margin but committed 26 turnovers to only 15 for the Blazers.
UAB plays its second exhibition game this coming Monday, Nov. 15 when the Blazers play host to Vasda USA at 7:30 p.m. in Bartow Arena.
