The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
SMU
UAB Claims Fourth Straight Win, Defeats SMU 74-69
3/2/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 2, 2013
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Behind strong front court play from Rod Rucker and Fahro Alihodzic, the UAB men's basketball claimed its fourth straight victory, edging SMU 74-69 on Saturday afternoon at Bartow Arena.
Not only was it the fourth consecutive win, but marked the sixth victory in the last seven games for UAB as it improved to 15-14 overall and evened up its Conference USA record at 7-7.
"We have some tough, high character kids and we have some veterans that have been through it before," UAB head coach Jerod Haase said. "We've responded now in multiple games by making plays, whether it is on the defensive end, whether it is on loose balls or when it is making shots when we need to."
Alihodzic finished with a career-high 18 points, 12 coming in the first half, while Rucker notched his team-best 10th double-double with 21 points, 14 coming in the second half, along with 11 rebounds.
SMU (14-15, 4-10) took a 33-27 lead into the locker room, as the Mustangs filled up the basket making 58.3 percent of their attempts.
Despite shooting just 32.1 percent in the opening stanza, the Blazer were in striking distance, down just six.
"Foz (Fahro Alihodzic) was phenomenal in the first half and he was the only guy that was producing for us," Haase said. "He may have been the only one that was playing with some fight in the first half."
In the second half, UAB found its stroke, knocking down 15 of 27 shots (55.6 percent) and connecting on 14 of 19 foul shot attempts. The Green and Gold finished 21 of 28 at the charity stripe.
The Blazers finally retook the lead when Robert Williams (11 points, six rebounds) buried a 3-pointer from the corner to put the home team up 39-38 with 16:59 left.
But the score advantage would pendulum back and forth as eight ties and nine lead changes took place in the second half.
Alihodzic's layup at the 5:48 mark knotted the score at 63-all, followed by a pair of Rucker foul shots to give the Blazers the lead for good.
Up 68-67, Quincy Taylor hit Rucker for a layup in the game's final minute. Following a missed 3-pointer by SMU, Williams was fouled and sent to the line, where he missed the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity.
However, Alihodzic tipped out the miss free throw to teammate Jordan Swing (11 points), forcing the Mustangs to foul.
Leading 71-67, SMU's Nick Russell made a layup to make the contest a one-possesion game. After the Blazers made 1-of-2 at the line, a tying 3-pointer came up short for the Mustangs and Rucker made pair of free throws to send UAB home winners for the fourth straight game.
UAB outrebounded its opponent for the sixth straight game, corralling 35 total rebounds, with 19 coming on the offensive glass. SMU totaled just 25 boards in the loss.
During the past six games, the Blazers have collected 45 more rebounds than the opposition.
"For us to outrebound the teams we are outrebounding it is about the grit and the toughness," Haase said. "There is a lot more to the game (than just rebounding), but if we dont have that grit we wont be successful."
The Blazers finished with a 43.6 shooting percentage, making 55.6 of its tries in the second half.
SMU was led offensively by Ryan Manuel, who finished with 15 points and four rebounds. Russell charted 14 points and Shawn Williams chipped in with 13.
The next game for the Blazers is a Wednesday tilt with UCF at Bartow Arena. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and will be televised by CSS.
