The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
UCF
Blazers Remain Unbeaten Against UCF With 53-49 Victory
2/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Behind junior guard Elijah Millsap's school-record 14th double-double of the season, the UAB men's basketball team picked up an important 53-49 victory at UCF on Wednesday night. Freshman Dexter Fields, a native of Orlando, Fla., chipped in with a career-high 13 points and four treys off the bench.
"This wasn't our best performance by a long shot, but it's a win and we'll take it," UAB head coach Mike Davis said. "Dexter gave us some very big minutes off the bench. I thought we came out and threw the first punch, but UCF continued to fight and really pushed us until the final buzzer."
The Blazers improve to 22-5 overall and 10-3 in Conference USA play. It marks the third consecutive season Davis has led his team to at least 22 wins overall and 10 conference victories in a season. UAB also moves to 5-0 in contests against UCF.
The UAB bench came up huge for a second consecutive contest, outscoring its counterparts, 29-21, and combined to play 73 minutes in the game.
The Knights trailed by eight at halftime, 31-23, as the Blazers led by as many as 13 points in the opening 20 minutes. But UCF fought back and tied the game at 38-38 on a basket by Keith Clanton with 11:02 remaining. UCF went the next 6:27 without a point and the next 7:21 without a field goal.
But the Blazers struggled to pull away, in particular due to a dismal performance from the free throw line. The Blazers connected on only 7-of-18 free throws in the second half, and went 10-of-22 from the charity stripe for the contest.
A.J. Tyler's tip-in basket with 1:58 brought UCF to within two. The Knights (13-14, 5-8) had an opportunity to tie the game or go ahead, but Millsap stepped in front of a UCF pass and went the length of the court for a slam dunk to give the Blazers a four-point lead with 1:26 left.
Drew Speraw's tip-in basket with 6 seconds left brought the Knights to within three points, 52-49. But Ovie Soko hit one of two free throws to ice the game with 4 seconds remaining.
UAB will next begin a two-game homestretch, which will mark the final regular-season home games of the 2009-10 campaign. The Blazers begin the homestand on Saturday against Tulane. Tip off is set for 1 p.m. at Bartow Arena.
