The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Memphis
Memphis Edges UAB 62-59 In Bartow Classic
1/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- On a special night in which legendary Coach Gene Bartow was honored after his recent passing, Memphis outlasted UAB in a back-and-forth battle, 62-59, during the third annual Gene Bartow Classic in both squads Conference USA opener.
The game featured 16 ties and 10 lead changes with the lead never reaching larger than seven points and coming down to the final possession, keeping all 8,242 glued to their seats.
A layup by Memphis' (10-5, 1-0 C-USA) Will Barton gave the Tigers a seven-point cushion, 62-55, with 1:55 remaining in the game. Quincy Taylor would make the back end of two foul shots to the cut deficit to six. Following a miss by the Tigers, Jordan Swing buried a trey from the corner to put the Blazers within one possession with just over one minute to play.
After trading possessions, Swing's potential game-tying shot was blocked and deflected off his body out of bounds giving Memphis the ball with 1.2 seconds remaining, up 62-59. Following a Tigers' timeout, Ovie Soko stole the sideline pass and immediately called timeout with 0.6 left to give the Blazers one last chance to send the game to overtime.
Unfortunately for UAB, their own sideline pass was tipped and stolen as the clock expired, securing the victory for Memphis.
"We didn't give a great effort down the stretch," UAB head coach Mike Davis said. "They got six points late in the game. Four of those points came off of uncontested driving lay-ups. We have to show more toughness in those situations. They made everything tough for us, and we just have to do a better job."
Cameron Moore topped all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor and knocking down 6-of-8 shots at the foul line. It marked his second 20-point outing of the season.
Swing sank a career-high five 3-pointers en route to scoring 19 points for the Blazers, while Ovie Soko and Preston Purifoy each chipped in with seven points to the box score.
After shooting 50 percent in the first half (12-for-24), UAB managed to make just six field goals in the second stanza on 22 attempts (27.3 percent). Memphis knocked down 54.5 percent of its shots for the game and scored 34 points in the paint in the victory.
To close out the first half, Purifoy drained a 3-pointer at the top of the key to take a 32-31 lead into the locker room over the Tigers. At intermission, Moore (14 points) and Swing (10 points) carried the offensive load in the opening stanza, with Moore connecting on 7-of-9 shots from the floor.
Memphis was led by Barton who recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Adonis Thomas made 7-of-8 shots for 15 points, while Chris Crawford chipped in with 10 off the bench.
The next game for the Blazers is slated for Wednesday against the Marshall at Bartow Arena, with game time scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.
