The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Rice
Blazers Topple Owls, 69-60
2/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2008
HOUSTON (AP) -- Ed Berrios scored 15 points and UAB beat Rice 69-60 on Thursday night to hand the Owls their 12th straight loss. The Blazers played without leading scorer Robert Vaden, who missed his first collegiate game due to an injury after 84 consecutive starts.
Vaden entered the contest averaging 20.8 points per game and ranked second in the nation in three-point field goals made per game (4.3). He started all 60 contests at Indiana, along with 24 starts this season.
Channing Toney added 12 points and Lawrence Kinnard had 11 for UAB (17-7, 7-2 Conference USA).
UAB led by as many as 12 points, 20-8, at the 12:32 mark of the opening half. That was thanks in large part to Berrios' five treys over the opening 20 minutes, which helped give the Blazers a nine-point, 40-31, halftime lead.
Rice opened the second half with a 9-2 spurt to pull within two, 42-40, at the 15:35 mark.
The Owls would keep fighting and eventually took a 54-53 lead with 6:32 remaining. However, Toney scored 10 points over the final five minutes to lift the Blazers on a 15-7 run, resulting in the final score.
Patrick Britton led Rice (3-20, 0-10) with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Owls played their fifth consecutive game without leading scorer and rebounder Paulius Packevicius, who is out with a knee injury.
Rodney Foster scored 12 points and Lawrence Graham added 10 for the Owls.
UAB shot worse than Rice from the field but made up for it at the foul line and from behind the 3-point arc. The Blazers made 21 free throws and hit eight 3-pointers, which both at least doubled those made by the Owls.
The Blazers will now begin preparations for No. 1 Memphis this Saturday. The game is set to tip-off at 7 p.m. and will be televised on CSS.
