The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Memphis
Blazers Topped by Tigers, 81-68
1/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2009
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Tyreke Evans scored 24 points to lead Memphis to an 81-68 win over UAB on Saturday night. The Blazers were led by senior guard Paul Delaney III, who scored a season-high 26 points in the losing effort.
"We came out and played with a lot of energy and effort in the first half," UAB head coach Mike Davis said. "At the same time, we have to play for an entire 40 minutes. We had too many mistakes down the stretch and really came back to hurt us. We just want to continue to get better as a team."
Four other players scored in double figures for Memphis (14-3, 4-0 Conference USA). Willie Kemp had 14 points, including 4-of-6 from outside the arc, part of Memphis going 9-of-16 (56 percent) from long-range.
Antonio Anderson and Doneal Mack each had 11 points for the Tigers, while Robert Dozier finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Along with Delaney's 26 points, Robert Vaden and Lawrence Kinnard scored 12 points apiece. All of Vaden's points came in the first half.
The Blazers jumped out to an early lead to start the game and led by as many as 11 points on a Kinnard three-pointer to give his team a 26-15 advantage with 9:08 remaining in the opening half.
UAB held the lead the entire first half until Evans' two free throws gave the Tigers the lead at 34-33 with 2:30 ledt before the intermission. The Tigers would go on to lead by three at the half, 42-39.
Memphis continued its surge in the beginning of the second half and would extend its lead to 55-45 with 13:40 remaining.
The Blazers cut the lead to seven on several occasions, the last time coming on a Channing Toney three-pointer to cut the lead to 73-66. However, Memphis answered with an 8-0 run to ice the contest.
The victory was the Tigers' 46th straight in Conference USA, including the postseason. UAB was the last team to defeat Memphis in conference play with an 80-74 win in Birmingham on March 2, 2006.
The Blazers will next be in action on Monday, Jan. 19, when they take on Louisiana-Lafayette for the first of a three-game homestand. The contest is set to tip off at 7 p.m. CT and will be aired on 107.7 FM WUHT.
