The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Murray State
UAB Out-Runs Murray State, 100-80
1/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2005
Box Score | Box Score In Adobe PDF Format | Quotes
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Ronell and Donell Taylor combined for 35 points and four Blazers scored in double-figures as UAB out-ran Murray State, 100-80, Sunday afternoon at Bartow Arena. It was UAB's 15th straight home court win and fourth overall victory in a row as the Blazers finished non-conference play 10-3 overall.
Ronell Taylor scored 18 points to lead the way for the Blazers while twin brother Donell had 17 and four steals. Freshman Paul Delaney scored a career-high 12 points and Marvett McDonald went for 11 as UAB forced 26 Racer turnovers and shot 50-percent (35-of-70) for the game.
"I thought we came out and kept shooting the ball well, and our defense was a constant," UAB head coach Mike Anderson said. "In the first half we knocked some free throws down and in the second half we really kicked it up. Our energy level was the best it has been all year long."
UAB led, 44-31, at halftime despite shooting just 39.5-percent from the floor. They had a 13-3 advantage in made free throws, however, and put together an 11-1 run which featured two Donell Taylor jumpers - one a three-pointer - to take a 37-25 lead with 4:20 to play before halftime.
The 13-point halftime score quickly bcame 18, then 20-plus as the defensive pressure continued to frustrate MSU (5-5).
"I told my guys they had to pass the ball to win, but they continued to dribble," Murray State head coach Mick Cronin said. "We didn't execute the game plan. We didn't pass the basketball. If you over dribble, you're tailor-made when you play against UAB."
MSU shot 47.6-percent for the game (30-of-63), but was just nine-of-25 from three-point land and 11-of-20 from the free-throw line. UAB was 25-of-31 (80.6-percent) from the line and dished out 19 assists on the night.
Darnell Hopkins paced the Racers with 20 points behind four-of-six three-point shooting. He was eight-of-11 from the floor overall. Shawn Witherspoon and Chuck Johnson chipped in with 14 each. Witherspoon and teammate Issian Redding led all rebounders with seven.
The victory puts UAB at 10-3 heading into Conference USA play on Wednesday night. The Blazers host Southern Miss at 8 p.m. CT in Bartow Arena. The game will be carried live by Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast and the Blazer Radio Network, heard locally in Birmingham on WYDE, 101.1 FM.
