The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Basketball Falls to Auburn in Season Opener
11/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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By Steve Irvine
AUBURN, Ala. -- The UAB men's basketball team's final possession in the season opener at Auburn didn't unfold exactly how Blazer head coach Jerod Haase drew it up. But it did end with the ball in Chris Cokley's hands, which was the objective.
However, a marvelous night for the 6-foot-8, 241-pound sophomore didn't include a fantastic finish. Instead, his rushed runner was swatted away by Auburn freshman Horace Spencer with 1.2 seconds left, and the Tigers were able to escape with a 75-74 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 9,121 at Auburn Arena.
On a night when UAB led for exactly 15 seconds, the Blazers nearly found a way to win. That lead came with 35.7 seconds left when senior Robert Brown gathered in a loose ball after a Nick Norton steal, raced down the court, hit a layup and converted a free throw after being fouled. Brown's three-point play gave the Blazers a 74-72 advantage.
Not long afterward, Auburn's TJ Lang hit an open 3-pointer from the right corner to reclaim the lead for the Tigers. UAB ran the clock down to 10.2 seconds before calling a timeout.
"My first gut instinct was I wanted to get Chris Cokley the ball on the low post," Haase said.
Cokley did get a short shot but was unable to get it past the 6-foot-9 Spencer. It was one of the few times during the game that Auburn was able to stop Cokley. He finished with 25 points, on 12-of-19 shooting from the field and 1-of-2 from the free throw line, while adding 12 rebounds, an assist and two blocked shots in 22 minutes.
Both coaches came away impressed with Cokley's play. Auburn coach Bruce Pearl called Cokley "a beast" and added that he "dominated" inside. Haase also praised his sophomore forward.
"I thought he was fantastic," Haase said. "Great hands, great feel for the game, great instincts around the basket. Hopefully that trend will continue."
Overall, though, things didn't go smoothly for the Blazers during the majority of the first half. Auburn came out quickly -- hitting a pair of 3-pointers in the first two minutes -- and built a 9-2 advantage. The Tigers eventually led by as many 12 points with the latest coming at the 3:03 mark.
However, thanks to some key defensive plays and transition buckets, the Blazers crawled back into the game. The first big defensive play actually came at the 3:18 mark when Brown blocked a shot by Auburn's T.J. Dunans, gathered up the loose ball, raced to the other end and fed the ball to Tyler Madison for a layup.
Auburn answered with a pair of free throws -- giving the Tigers a 38-26 lead -- before UAB went on a 11-2 run to end the half. It began with a three-point play by Cokley and also included two buckets by Cokley and another layup by Madison. Dirk Williams closed out the half with a pair of two free throws with 2.7 seconds remaining before halftime. Williams was fouled after hustling for a rebound following a missed 3-pointer by William Lee.
Cokley led UAB with 11 points and seven rebounds and Hakeem Baxter added 10 points. Brown didn't score in the first half but he did have six assists.
Auburn was able to rebuild the lead to as many as nine points in the second half. The final time came with 8:44 left but UAB countered with eight consecutive points. Cokley had the first six points and Norton's steal and layup cut the deficit to 65-64 with 6:19 left. Three minutes later, Auburn had the lead back up to six points. Once again, however, UAB refused to fold.
Norton hit a 3-pointer with 2:37 left to cut the deficit in half and Brown's bucket made the score
"I told our team before the game that if we won a big game it wasn't going to define our season by any means, if we lost the game it wasn't going to define our season," Haase said. "We do have big dreams and goals for this team. This is certainly a setback but it's not something that will define our season. The next few days we'll be able to refocus."
For more information on UAB men's basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), on Instagram (@blazerhoops) or on Facebook (Facebook.com/UABMensBasketball). For more on all Blazer sports teams follow the official social media accounts of UAB Athletics on Twitter (@UABAthletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uabathletics) or on Snapchat (@uabathletics).
