Blazers Topple Memphis in Bartow Classic

Thursday, November 30

Bartow Arena

7:00 PM

UAB

5-3

Memphis

3-2

Memphis

UAB

Blazers Topple Memphis in Bartow Classic

11/30/2017 10:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB men's basketball team put an emphatic end to a frustrating streak on Thursday night with a 71-56 victory over Memphis in the Bartow Classic at Bartow Arena.

In case you weren't counting, it was 11 years, eight months and 28 days, which translates to 4,291 days overall, since the Blazers last knocked off the Tigers. Ending that streak was sweet for the Blazers, however, perhaps the most significant part of the evening was paying tribute to Gene Bartow.

"Obviously, the Gene Bartow Classic, playing Memphis, this meant a great deal to our program, to our fans, to myself," said UAB head coach Robert Ehsan, who had a hard time wiping a big smile off his face when walking into the postgame press conference. "To play like we did, just with that energy, was probably the most pleasing thing of the night."

It didn't take long for the Blazers (5-3) to turn it into a pleasant evening before an amped up crowd of 4,920. Chris Cokley scored the first four points of the game, followed by a Nate Darling 3-pointer. Memphis (3-2) hit a free throw before a Nick Norton 3-pointer and a 15-foot bucket by Cokley gave UAB a 12-1 lead with just 4:15 elapsed off the clock.

"We came out angry, really," Darling said. "That's what Coach Ehsan was telling us, playing with passion, play with anger and try to prove something tonight. We were ready to go from the jump."

Memphis was able to calm things down a bit, running off five straight points. But UAB responded with a 13-0 run that began with a follow shot by Makhtar Gueye and included a pair of 3-pointers by Darling and five points by Cokley.

The Blazers eventually cruised into halftime with 40-21 lead. Cokley was easily the best player on the floor in the first 20 minutes, hitting 6-of-7 shots from the field on his way to 13 first half points, and adding eight rebounds. Darling added nine points and three assists.

"I was just trying to stay active," Cokley said. "They were pretty big inside. I just tried to use my quickness and athleticism against them. Coach Ehsan was stressing they didn't box out, so I just tried to stay active on the offensive glass."

UAB had that lead despite William Lee not registering a point or rebound in the first half while playing just six minutes because of foul trouble. Zack Bryant also failed to register a point in the first 20 minutes, missing all six of his shots.

Both played a positive role early in the second half for the Blazers. Bryant gave UAB its first bucket the second half and Lee hit a jumper about a minute later, giving the Blazers a 46-25 lead. The lead grew to 24 points – on a 3-pointer by Jalen Perry – with 15:31 left in the game.

Memphis started slowly chipping away at the lead, eventually whittling it down to 58-45 with 7:40 left in the game. Ehsan called a timeout at that point. Darling responded out of the timeout by taking the basketball hard to the basket and getting fouled. He converted both free throws to get UAB back on track.

"We challenged the guys defensively and said run our offense," Ehsan said. "We were in the bonus, so that helped us. We said if they put their hands on us, it's a foul, be strong with the basketball. Nate got to the free throw line, Jalen got to the free throw line and, I thought, that kind of deflated their comeback a little bit."

Memphis did get within 12 points twice in the next minute but UAB made 9-of-10 free throws down the stretch.

Cokley finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds and also added three assists and a blocked shot.

"Chris Cokley is playing at an unbelievable level," Ehsan said. "Most teams we play on our schedule, the whole rest of the year, Cokley, Lee and Lewis Sullivan, we're going to have an advantage inside. I thought we went to Cokley early, he kicked it out early and we made some 3s to loosen up the defense."

UAB also helped its cause by committing just three first half turnovers and seven turnovers overall. The Blazers dished out 14 assists with Nick Norton having five of those.

"When we played our first exhibition game, we had 24 turnovers," Ehsan said. "I told the team, win or lose, every game it's gone down. Even in the Cayman Islands, we weren't turning it over. That is a huge sign for us. Nick is getting more comfortable. Now, Scootie (Bryant) and Nick are getting more comfortable together. With two point guards, you really see the effect of taking care of the basketball, which is very important to us."

Add it all together and it was a tremendous evening at Bartow Arena, particularly with Ruth Bartow, Murry Bartow and other members of the family looking on.

"It was a special night," Ehsan said. "We do this once a year (honoring) Coach Bartow's legacy. Ruth came to the locker room. She told the guys, Coach Bartow would be proud. That's a very special moment for our team."

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