The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
East Tennessee State
UAB Defeats East Tennessee State, 74-52
12/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2009
Final Stats |
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Junior guard Elijah Millsap scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and senior center Kenneth Cooper added 11 points and had 10 rebounds in UAB's 74-52 win over East Tennessee State on Friday night in the UAB Health System Bartow Classic. With the victory, the Blazers improve to 8-1 - their best start since the 1993-94 campaign.
"I thought we played a really good game," UAB head coach Mike Davis said. "I thought our guys played hard. It was a great effort by everybody who played tonight. It was a good win over a very good East Tennessee State team."
The win was made even more special on a night that honored the "founding father" of UAB athletics, Gene Bartow. The Hall of Fame head coach was honored throughout the game by numerous former UAB players, prominent coaches in the basketball ranks and many others who paid tribute to him.
"It was a great night honoring Coach Bartow," Davis said. "I want to thank everyone who came out tonight and who supported this event. Coach Bartow has meant so much to UAB and the entire college basketball community, and I thought tonight was a fitting tribute to all he has done."
East Tennessee State head coach Murry Bartow, who spent five years at the helm of the UAB men's basketball program, echoed Davis' statement.
"It was a great night for our family and my dad," Murry Bartow said. "I think the people at UAB did a great job putting all this together."
The Blazers dominated the boards, outrebounding the Bucs, 52-28, which included a 19-8 advantage on the offensive glass. As a direct result, UAB had a huge 22-5 edge in second-chance points.
The Blazers led 37-25 at halftime as they opened to a 22-14 first-half rebounding advantage and scored 11 second-chance points.
However, the Buccaneers came out with more energy to start the second half, cutting the UAB lead to 45-40 with 12:02 remaining in the contest, forcing the Blazers to take a timeout.
The Blazers responded after the timeout with a 12-2 run to push the lead to 57-42 with 7:35 left in the contest. From there, UAB was able to put the game away as it captured the seventh straight victory.
Senior guard George Drake had a big night for the Blazers, finishing with 16 points, five assists and tied his career-high with five blocked shots in the contest. Jamarr Sanders added 17 points and nine rebounds.
The Buccaneers (4-5) were led by Mike Smith, who came off the bench to score 14 points. Justin Tubbs added 11 points and Isiah Brown grabbed 10 rebounds for East Tennessee, which lost for the third time in three meetings with UAB.
The Blazers' defense was also impressive, holding the Bucs to just 34.5 percent shooting on the night. UAB has now held six of its nine opponents to under 60 points.
The Blazers will now have a 12-day break until their next game, when they host nationally-ranked Cincinnati on Wednesday, Dec. 16, at 6 p.m. CT. The contest will be televised nationally on CBS College Sports.
