The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Close Road Trip Saturday at FIU
1/20/2017 12:00:00β―AM | Men's Basketball
UAB (12-7, 6-1) vs. FIU (4-15, 0-6)
6 p.m. CST | Miami, Fla. | FIU Arena
Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes
MIAMI, Fla. -- The UAB men's basketball team goes for its sixth straight Saturday at 6 p.m. (CT) when the Blazers face FIU from FIU Arena.
UAB (12-7, 5-1) turned in an 80-78 victory at Florida Atlantic on Thursday to improve to 15-5 in its last 20 games decided by five points or less. William Lee scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead five Blazers in double figures.
Lee enters the weekend leading UAB in scoring (13.1 ppg), rebounding (6.7 ppg) and blocked shots 2.8 (bpg). The Plantersville, Ala., has scored at least 16 points in five straight games and is shooting 56.4 percent from the field and 48.0 percent from the three-point line during that stretch.
Junior Chris Cokley added 15 points and seven rebounds against the Owls and stands second on the team in scoring (12.1 ppg) and rebounding (5.8 rpg). Cokley is only 52 points shy of becoming the 21st player in UAB history with 1,000 career points.
Senior Dirk Williams hit his team-best 30th three-pointer of the season Thursday at Florida Atlantic and ranks third on the team with 10.1 points per game. Williams is also one of six Blazers that shoots at least 80.0 percent from the free throw line. As a team, UAB is eighth in the NCAA with a .780 free throw percentage after shooting 88.2 percent from the charity stripe on Thursday.
FIU (4-15, 0-6) lost its sixth straight game when it fell 65-52 to Middle Tennessee on Thursday. The Panthers have not won since posting a 78-54 home victory over in-state foe North Florida on Dec. 21.
Senior guard Donte McGill leads FIU with 18.9 points per game with shooting 92.8 percent from the free throw line. Forward Michael Kessens is second on the team with 14.2 points per game and a team-best 9.5 rebounds per game.
UAB and FIU will meet on the hardwood for only the sixth time in school history when the two teams battle on Saturday. The Blazers own a 3-2 lead in the all-time series that dates back to the 2013-14 season and have won the last two over the Panthers. Last season, UAB swept the season series and won the two games by an average of 11.0 points per game.
For more information on UAB men's basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), Instagram (@blazerhoops) and Snapchat (@UAB_MBB).
