The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Saint Louis
UAB Snaps Skid With 64-62 Win At Saint Louis
2/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2005
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Donell Taylor tied a career-high with 27 points as UAB snapped a four-game losing streak by beating Saint Louis 64-62 Wednesday night. Sophomore Ernest Litte scored six points and tallied eight rebounds, but it was his last-second blocked shot of a three-point try by SLU's Luke Meyer which was his most critical contribution, as it preserved the two-point win for the Blazers
"Big Ernest stepped up to the plate when he had to," UAB head coach Mike Anderson said. "He had one block and it was probably the biggest blocked shot of his career thus far. He did a good job of coming out and managing through the game. As those guys sit on that bench, you never know when your opportunity to shine is going to come. He was able to come out and step up and step up in a big way. Marcus (Lewis) could not go and Ernest gave us a presence inside and against a team like Saint Louis, you've got to have somebody to get in there and mix it up."
Lewis, UAB's senior postman, missed the game with a sprained ankle he suffered in the second half of last weekend's loss at Cincinnati. He is day-to-day.
Taylor, who entered the game averaging 15.3 points per game, made up for the loss of his twin brother, Ronell, who was out with a broken foot. The Blazers had gone 0-3 since Ronell Taylor's injury.
Carldell Johnson had 10 points and five assists for UAB (17-9, 7-6 Conference USA) which won for the first time since a road victory at Marquette on Feb. 2 .
Izik Ohanon, Ian Vouyoukas and Vas'Shun Newborne all had 12 points each for Saint Louis (7-19, 4-9). The Billikens fell to 4-10 at home, matching the school's single-season record for home losses at the Savvis Center.
UAB trailed 57-54 with less than five minutes left when Johnson began to take over. He picked up an assist on Marvett McDonald's 3-pointer that tied the game at 57 with 4:26 left. Johnson then hit a jumper with 3:58 left to give the Blazers a 59-57 lead. UAB never trailed again but Saint Louis did get a defensive stop with the Blazers ahead 63-60. Vouyoukas's 15-footer with :11 left made it a one point game. Taylor then hit one of two free throws to set up Little's game-saving block on the Billiken's ensuing possession.
The first half was evenly contested, with neither team taking a lead of more than five points. UAB took the largest lead of the half when Demario Eddins converted a layup to make it 17-12. Saint Louis battled back and cut the lead to one at 31-30 when Danny Brown hit a long 3-pointer with 33.8 seconds left in the half.
"More than anything else, it's good to get off that losing slide," Anderson said. "There's one thing about me that I'm always interested in and that is `W's' and `L's.' It's a lot nicer when you're on that `W' side."
The Blazers next return to Bartow Arena for a 7:30 p.m. CT Saturday night home contest against Tulane. The Green Wave beat UAB in overtime on Jan. 19 in New Orleans, 76-73. The game will be Donell and Ronell Taylor Bobblehead Doll Night. The first 4,000 fans through the gates will receive the collectible of UAB's senior twins.
