The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Conclude Road Trip Saturday at Rice
1/6/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UAB (8-7, 1-1) vs. Rice (11-5, 1-2)
7 p.m. CST | Houston, Texas | Tudor Fieldhouse
Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes
HOUSTON, Texas – The UAB men’s basketball team put the finishing touches on a three-game road trip Saturday at 7 p.m. when the Blazers face Rice from Tudor Fieldhouse.
UAB (8-7, 1-1) picked up its first Conference USA win of the season Thursday at North Texas behind 19 points and five blocks from junior forward William Lee. Lee also scored the game-winning basket in the final minute to propel the Blazers to a 54-52 victory.
Chris Cokley added 13 points and 16 rebounds while Denzell Watts hit a career-best four 3-pointers and finished with 12 points after drawing his first start of the season.
Cokley begins the weekend tops on the team with 12.1 points per game to go along with 5.4 rebounds per game. The Savannah, Ga., native finished 6-for-7 from the field Thursday against the Mean Green and is now first in Conference USA and 18th in the NCAA with a .612 field goal percentage.
Lee stands second on the team with 11.4 points per game and ranks first with 6.1 rebounds per game. He also ranks first in the league and eighth in the NCAA with 3.0 blocks per game and needs only two more rejections to move into 12th place all-time in Conference USA history with 193.
Senior guard Dirk Williams adds 10.7 points per game and has made a team-high 26 three-pointers. Williams also makes 87.1 percent of his free throws and has helped the Blazers rank 18th in the NCAA with a .764 free throw percentage.
Rice (11-5, 1-2) dropped its second league game of the season Thursday after falling 80-77 at home to Middle Tennessee. The loss was only the second at home this season and first since Nov. 16.
Junior guard Egor Koulechov leads Rice and ranks fourth in the conference with 19.0 points per game. Koulechov has also made 40 three-pointers and leads the league with a .580 three-point field goal percentage. Sophomore Marcus Evens is second on the team and fifth in the league with 18.3 points per game.
UAB and Rice will meet on the hardwood for the 13th time in school history when the two teams battle on Saturday. The Blazers own an 11-1 lead in the all-time series that dates back to the 1980-81 season. UAB won the first 10 meetings in the series before Rice snapped the streak and captured an 82-73 win in double overtime in 2015. Last season, UAB defeated the Owls 82-70 behind 19 points from Robert Brown, while Nick Norton added 18 points and four assists. The Blazers are 5-1 all-time at Tudor Fieldhouse.
For more information on UAB men’s basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), Instagram (@blazerhoops) and Snapchat (@UAB_MBB).
