The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Welcome Alabama State for Home Opener
11/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Alabama State (1-0) vs. UAB (0-1)
8:00 p.m. CST | Birmingham, Ala. | Bartow Arena
Live Stats | ASN Clearance Report | Listen Live | Game Notes
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB men's basketball team opens its home schedule Monday at 8 p.m. when the Blazers welcome in-state foe Alabama State to Bartow Arena.
The game will be broadcast live on American Sports Network (ASN) with Doug Bell and Tim Scarborough on the call.
UAB dropped its season opener at Auburn on Friday when TJ Lang hit a three-pointer from the corner with 21 seconds left to lift the Tigers to a 75-74 victory. UAB trailed by nine points with 8:44 remaining, but the Blazers used an 18-7 run capped by a three-point play from Robert Brown to take their first lead of the game with 36 seconds left.
Chris Cokley scored a career-high 25 points to go along with 12 rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. The Savannah, Ga., native is the first Blazer with 20 points in a season opener since Cameron Moore scored 20 against Southeast Missouri State in 2010.
Brown added a career-high 11 assists to help the Blazers finish with 19, marking the 10th time in the last 11 games dating back to last season that UAB has tallied more assists than its opponent.
Hakeem Baxter and Nick Norton each finished with 10 points and three rebounds for the Blazers.
Alabama State enters play following an 85-82 upset victory at Virginia Tech Saturday night. The Hornets featured four players in double figures, led by the 21 points and seven assists from Jamel Waters.
UAB owns a 7-0 lead in the all-time series with Alabama State that dates back to the 1988-89 season. The Blazers have won five of those games by at least 15 points and are winning by an average of 17.7 points over the course of the series. In addition, UAB is 47-0 all-time against schools from the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Blazer fans are encouraged to join Gang Green and UAB Student Affairs by tailgating prior to the game outside the main entrance of Bartow Arena. There will be free food for students, music courtesy of BlazeRadio and a wing eating contest. Festivities start at 6 p.m. with setup beginning as early as 3 p.m.
UAB men's basketball season tickets are on sale now and feature 16 regular season games. Lower level seats are in high demand and are priced at $215 per seat. UAB employee or active members of the National Alumni Society will receive a discounted price of $195. Upper level seats can be purchased for as low as $75. Click here to purchase your season tickets today, or call the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at (205) 975-8221.
The Conference USA Men's and Women's Basketball Championship is set to return to Birmingham for the second consecutive year, marking the third time the Blazers will host the event. The men's tournament, as well as the women's semifinals and championship, will be played at the BJCC in downtown Birmingham, while the women's first round and quarterfinal action will take place at UAB's Bartow Arena.
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).
