The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
-174, 71 CUSA
WKU
-1110, 35 CUSA
UAB Stumbles at Western Kentucky
1/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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By Steve Irvine, UABSports.com
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- The UAB men's basketball team saw its national best 14-game streak snapped on Thursday night as Western Kentucky got hot early and hung on for a 69-62 victory at Diddle Arena.
The Blazers fell behind by as many as 14 points in the first half, crawled back to within five at halftime, failed to take the lead several times after the break and could not find a way to overcome a Western Kentucky team that struggled in C-USA play before Thursday night.
"For about the first 12 to14 minutes of the game, we just weren't physical. We weren't in tune," said UAB head coach Jerod Haase, whose team had not lost since an 82-77 overtime defeat to Virginia Tech on Nov. 28. "We had one of our best weeks of practice leading up to this. It did not carry over to the game. We were a step slow in everything we did the first 12 minutes, getting to the basketball, getting to the rebounds, offensively just not being aggressive."
With the loss, UAB (17-4 overall, 7-1 C-USA) now shares first place with Marshall, which handled Middle Tennessee easily on Thursday night and plays host to the Blazers on Saturday.
The Blazers will not carry momentum into Saturday's showdown, partly because of Thursday's slow start. The Hilltoppers (11-10 overall, 3-5 C-USA) consistently got to the basket early in the game, scoring 12 of their first 14 points on layups or follow shots. That hot start eventually turned into a 40-26 lead late in the first half.
However, the Blazers calmly chipped away at the lead in the final 2:30 of the first half. Hakeem Baxter began a 9-0 run with a fast break layup after a nice pass from Nick Norton. Another Norton assist led to a Robert Brown fast break layup. Norton hit a 3-pointer, and William Lee made two free throws to trim the deficit to 40-35 at halftime. Lee had 12 of his team-high 20 points in the first half, which helped the Blazers stay as close as they did.
"We told them at halftime it would be a grind in the second half," Haase said. "It was a grind in the second half. I was really surprised how inefficient we were offensively. We missed some shots, point-blank range, from layups to 6-footers all the way to the 3-point line that we made this year."
UAB shot just 33.3 percent overall from the field after halftime and made just 2-of-13 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes. But the Blazers still put themselves in position to win.
Lee opened the second half with a 12-footer to trim the deficit to 40-37, and the Blazers threatened to take the lead several times in the second half. Each time, though, they failed to convert good scoring opportunities, and Western Kentucky came up with timely baskets. Guard Aaron Crosby, who had 20 points, including five 3-pointers, did much of the damage for Western Kentucky.
UAB, which encountered costly foul trouble in the second half, trailed, 59-57, after a follow shot by Chris Cokley with 6:22 remaining. The Blazers went cold after that, missing seven consecutive shots before a Lee dunk with 2:26 remaining. Lee's basket made the score 63-59, but the only other UAB points come on a long 3-pointer by Brown with 23.6 seconds left.
Lee finished with seven rebounds, two blocked shots, a steal and an assist to go with his 20 points. Brown had 11 points and four assists, and Norton had 10 points, six assists and four steals. But the Blazers uncharacteristically had more turnovers (16) than assists (14).
"For us to have a negative assist-turnover ratio has not been the norm," Haase said. "When we do that, it's going to be hard."
The Blazers have to turn the page quickly with a flight to Huntington tonight and practice tomorrow in preparation for Saturday's 11 a.m. CT game against Marshall.
"The guys were certainly very, very upset," Haase said of the postgame locker room in Bowling Green. "There was a lot of emotion on their part. At the same time, it's not something we're going to dwell on. In a very, very, very short amount of time, we've got to get back on the court again. Bottom line is we have not played a complete game, maybe the entire season. Once we do play a complete game, we're going to be in a good spot."
The Conference USA Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are 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 Legacy Arena 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).
