The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Saturday, March 3
Bartow Arena
7:00 PM
UAB
vs
WKU
Blazers Host WKU on Senior Night
3/2/2018 5:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB men's basketball team puts the finishing touches on the regular season Saturday at 7 p.m. when the Blazers welcome WKU to Bartow Arena on Senior Night.
Saturday will also serve as Prostate Cancer Awareness Night and all fans are encouraged to wear blue to support the cause. The UAB Department of Athletics will donate $2 from every ticket sold to the Mike Slive Foundation for Cancer Research. Earlier this season, UAB basketball partnered with the Mike Slive Foundation in an effort to raise money and block cancer.
Blazer head coach Robert Ehsan, his entire coaching staff and all 11 student-athletes have pledged to donate a specific amount for every blocked shot and charge taken during Conference USA play. All toll, the UAB basketball program is scheduled to donate $63 for every charge and $32 for all blocked shots against league competition. With 66 blocks and 24 charges to the team's credit through 17 conference games, the Blazers have already raised $3,624 heading into the final game of the regular season.
"Part of our mission as a program is to give back to the community and the ability to associate this cause with something we have excelled at on the basketball court makes this partnership extremely unique, special and rare," Ehsan said. "I've had the pleasure of spending significant time with Mike Slive over the past few years and he's been one of our biggest supporters and advocates of our program."
UAB will honor seniors Chris Cokley and William Lee with a ceremony prior to tip-off. Cokley enters play third all-time at UAB in scoring and second in rebounding, field goals made and field goal percentage. Lee will begin the contest 14th all-time in scoring, third in rebounding, first in blocked shots and 10th in minutes played.
The Blazers head into the finale in sixth place in the league standings and would clinch the No. 6 seed in the upcoming Conference USA Tournament with a win over the Hilltoppers. UAB can also secure the sixth seed if North Texas loses to UTEP on Saturday.
Cokley continues to serve as the offensive catalyst for UAB with 17.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game after finishing with 23 points and six rebounds Thursday in a win over Marshall. The Savannah, Ga., native also ranks first in the league and 28th in the NCAA with 13 double-doubles.
Freshman Zack Bryant finished with 11 points against the Thundering Herd and stands second on the team with 13.0 points and 3.0 assists per game. Lee, who tallied 15 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks on Thursday, adds 9.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. Lee ranks 33rd in the NCAA with 2.1 rejections per game and needs just two more to move into third place all-time in league history with 292 career blocks.
WKU (22-8, 13-3) saw its six-game winning streak snapped Thursday in an 82-64 setback at No. 23 Middle Tennessee. The Hilltoppers remain tied for second place and would secure the No. 2 seed in the league tournament with a win over the Blazers. WKU, however, can finish no worse than the No. 3 seed.
Senior forward Justin Johnson leads WKU with 14.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, while fellow senior Darius Thompson pours in 14.5 points to go along with a team-best 4.8 assists per game. Freshman Taveion Hollingsworth (13.4 ppg) and senior Dwight Coleby (11.7 ppg) also score in double figures for the Hilltoppers.
UAB and WKU will meet on the hardwood for the 37th time in school history when the two teams battle on Saturday. The Blazers own an 22-14 lead in the all-time series that dates back to the 1980-81 season. The Hilltoppers, however, have won the last two meetings and three of the last four after posting a 77-69 victory over UAB earlier this season at Diddle Arena. Coleby finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds and Johnson added 18 points and eight rebounds to lead WKU to the win. Overall, UAB is 13-3 all-time against the Hilltoppers in Birmingham and have won three straight at Bartow Arena. WKU has not won in Bartow Arena since 2005.
For more information on UAB men's basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), Instagram (@UAB_MBB) and Snapchat (@UAB_MBB).
Saturday will also serve as Prostate Cancer Awareness Night and all fans are encouraged to wear blue to support the cause. The UAB Department of Athletics will donate $2 from every ticket sold to the Mike Slive Foundation for Cancer Research. Earlier this season, UAB basketball partnered with the Mike Slive Foundation in an effort to raise money and block cancer.
Blazer head coach Robert Ehsan, his entire coaching staff and all 11 student-athletes have pledged to donate a specific amount for every blocked shot and charge taken during Conference USA play. All toll, the UAB basketball program is scheduled to donate $63 for every charge and $32 for all blocked shots against league competition. With 66 blocks and 24 charges to the team's credit through 17 conference games, the Blazers have already raised $3,624 heading into the final game of the regular season.
"Part of our mission as a program is to give back to the community and the ability to associate this cause with something we have excelled at on the basketball court makes this partnership extremely unique, special and rare," Ehsan said. "I've had the pleasure of spending significant time with Mike Slive over the past few years and he's been one of our biggest supporters and advocates of our program."
UAB will honor seniors Chris Cokley and William Lee with a ceremony prior to tip-off. Cokley enters play third all-time at UAB in scoring and second in rebounding, field goals made and field goal percentage. Lee will begin the contest 14th all-time in scoring, third in rebounding, first in blocked shots and 10th in minutes played.
The Blazers head into the finale in sixth place in the league standings and would clinch the No. 6 seed in the upcoming Conference USA Tournament with a win over the Hilltoppers. UAB can also secure the sixth seed if North Texas loses to UTEP on Saturday.
Cokley continues to serve as the offensive catalyst for UAB with 17.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game after finishing with 23 points and six rebounds Thursday in a win over Marshall. The Savannah, Ga., native also ranks first in the league and 28th in the NCAA with 13 double-doubles.
Freshman Zack Bryant finished with 11 points against the Thundering Herd and stands second on the team with 13.0 points and 3.0 assists per game. Lee, who tallied 15 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks on Thursday, adds 9.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. Lee ranks 33rd in the NCAA with 2.1 rejections per game and needs just two more to move into third place all-time in league history with 292 career blocks.
WKU (22-8, 13-3) saw its six-game winning streak snapped Thursday in an 82-64 setback at No. 23 Middle Tennessee. The Hilltoppers remain tied for second place and would secure the No. 2 seed in the league tournament with a win over the Blazers. WKU, however, can finish no worse than the No. 3 seed.
Senior forward Justin Johnson leads WKU with 14.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, while fellow senior Darius Thompson pours in 14.5 points to go along with a team-best 4.8 assists per game. Freshman Taveion Hollingsworth (13.4 ppg) and senior Dwight Coleby (11.7 ppg) also score in double figures for the Hilltoppers.
UAB and WKU will meet on the hardwood for the 37th time in school history when the two teams battle on Saturday. The Blazers own an 22-14 lead in the all-time series that dates back to the 1980-81 season. The Hilltoppers, however, have won the last two meetings and three of the last four after posting a 77-69 victory over UAB earlier this season at Diddle Arena. Coleby finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds and Johnson added 18 points and eight rebounds to lead WKU to the win. Overall, UAB is 13-3 all-time against the Hilltoppers in Birmingham and have won three straight at Bartow Arena. WKU has not won in Bartow Arena since 2005.
For more information on UAB men's basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), Instagram (@UAB_MBB) and Snapchat (@UAB_MBB).
Players Mentioned
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