The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Clemson
UAB Pressures Clemson, Wins 78-66 In Rainbow Classic Opener
12/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2004
HONOLULU, Hawaii - Donell Taylor scored a career-high 26 points and the frenetic UAB defense forced 26 Clemson turnovers as the Blazers won, 78-66, in the first round of the 41st Annual Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic Tuesday evening. Taylor was nine-of-13 from the floor and a perfect seven-of-seven from the free throw line to lead UAB to victory.
"(Donell) has been playing well all season long," UAB head coach Mike Anderson said. "Our style of play fits his game. The key for us is that it's going to be a different guy each night. You saw Donell tonight. You might see Ronell (Taylor) tomorrow, or Demario (Eddins) or Marcus (Lewis)."
UAB (6-2) trailed, 37-34, at the half despite dictating the tempo from the beginning. Clemson (7-2) held the Blazers scoreless for 3:08 and went on an 8-0 run midway through the stanza to pull even at 30-all with 5:09 to play.
The Blazers, who led by as many as eight in the first half, started the second period on a 6-0 run, but Clemson responded with a Cliff Hammonds three-point shot to make it 42-39 with 16:35 left. The teams battled back-and-forth until Marvett McDonald's three-pointer with 14:33 remaining ignited a 10-0 UAB run that featured a pair of Ronell Taylor jumpers.
From there, UAB maintained the lead, only allowing the Tigers to get as close as six twice with under 6:00 to play. Eddins hit four unanswered free throws and another McDonald three highlighted a 9-0 spurt from the 4:52 mark to the 3:06 point which made the game unreachable for the previously once-beaten Tigers.
"We dictated the tempo from the outset," Anderson added. "When we play that way, we're pretty good. The rebounding differential was big, but you have to give credit to Clemson for that. They got after it. Sherrod Ford played like a man possessed early on, but we forced the tempo of the game and made it a pace we like to play."
Ronell Taylor added 13 points for the Blazers while Eddins and McDonald had 12 each. Hammonds, who hit five-of-eight three-pointers for Clemson, led the Tigers with 22 points Sharrod Ford had 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Clemson doubled up UAB on the rebounding, 44-22, but the 26 turnovers and 18-of-22 free throw shooting for the Blazers proved costly for the Tigers. UAB shot 51.9-percent for the game (28-of-54) and rebounded from last Friday's road loss at Richmond.
Anderson's club next faces Southern Cal, which beat Indiana State, 68-64, in Tuesday's nightcap. Wednesday's semifinal game tips off at 5 p.m. HT/9 p.m. CT. It can be heard live in Birmingham on 101.1 FM, the flagship station of the Blazer Sports Network.
