Blazers Fall to Middle Tennessee on the Road, 71-65

Wednesday, January 30

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

6:30 p.m.

UAB

14-8, 6-3

Middle Tennessee

6-16, 3-6

UAB

Middle Tennessee

Blazers Fall to Middle Tennessee on the Road, 71-65

1/30/2019 9:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Season Statistics

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – A tough shooting second half ultimately led to the UAB men's basketball team falling on the road 71-65 to Middle Tennessee at the Murphy Center on Wednesday night.

After shooting 50 percent in the first half, the Blazers (14-8, 6-3 C-USA) had some unlucky bounces in the second half en route to 33 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes which led to the Blue Raiders snapping UAB's four-game winning streak.

Sophomore guard Zack Bryant continued his stellar play, finishing with a game-high 21 points, while adding a team-high six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Makhtar Gueye and Lewis Sullivan each had 13 points to join Bryant in double figures.

The Blue Raiders (6-16, 3-6 C-USA) had four players in double figures, led by Donovan Sims with 19. With Middle Tennessee leading 65-63 with less than a minute to play, Sims hit a desperation 3-pointer as the shot clock expired which proved to be the decisive play in the game.

Led by Bryant with four, the Blazers had 11 steals on the night and forced 16 turnovers, but could only cash that into 16 points. Middle Tennessee forced 11 UAB turnovers and also scored 16 points off of those turnovers.

With the game tied 6-6 early on, the Blazers scored nine of the next 11 points to gain a 15-8 lead. However, MT then went on an 18-2 run for a 26-17 advantage, forcing head coach Robert Ehsan into his second called timeout of the half with 4:55 remaining.

Coach Ehsan's timeout ignited a 9-2 UAB run, and the Blazers ultimately outscored the Blue Raiders 16-7 down the stretch as the two teams went into the locker room deadlocked at 33-33.

Bryant had 10 points, two rebounds, a block and a steal at the break, while Gueye added nine to lead the Blazers.

The Blazers raced out to an 8-2 run to start the second half, and Bryant's and-1 gave UAB a 41-35 lead at 17:47 and forced MT into a timeout.

Middle Tennessee battled back, and a 3-pointer from Antonio Green moved the Blue Raiders ahead 49-47, a lead Middle Tennessee would keep for the remainder of the game.

UAB trailed by seven with less than eight minutes to play, and cut it to four (63-59) at the final media timeout of the game. The Blazers kept fighting a no-look pass from Bryant to Sullivan cut it to 65-63 with 2:24 to play.

Neither team would score until Sims hit the 3-point dagger for Middle Tennessee with 38 seconds remaining.

The Blazers and the Blue Raiders will meet again in three days when Middle Tennessee pays a return trip to Birmingham for the Bartow Classic on Saturday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. Click here for tickets.