UAB Hands Duquesne its First Loss After a 77-69 Victory in St. Petersburg

Sunday, December 22

St. Petersburg, Fla.

1:30 PM

UAB

-84,00 CUSA

Duquesne

10-1,0-0Atlantic 10

UAB

Duquesne

UAB Hands Duquesne its First Loss After a 77-69 Victory in St. Petersburg

12/22/2019 5:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Jalen Benjamin scored a career-high 23 points and Tyreek Scott-Grayson added 16 as UAB handed Duquesne its first loss of the season after a 77-68 win on Sunday afternoon. This was the final game of the St. Peter Shootout held at Eckerd College.

UAB (8-4) has won four straight and recorded a season-high in points against aDukes team who had a scoring margin of +17.8 heading into the weekend.

Duquesne (10-1), who were No. 20 in the NET coming into today's contest, were led by Marcus Weathers with 18 points. This leaves only three undefeated teams remaining in the country.

The teams missed the first five shots combined before Scott-Grayson hit a 3-pointer from the right side. However, UAB would be held without a field goal for the next 3:23 and would trail until Will Butler's put back made the score 11-10 at 13:07. The Dukes would regain the lead on its next possession.

An 11-2 run put the Blazers up 22-17 at 6:49 as they held the Dukes without a field goal for over five and a half minutes. UAB would hold the lead for the final 9:36 of the half as they took a 30-28 lead into halftime.

The Blazers led until the 15:19 mark of the 2^nd half when Tavian Dunn-Martin scored four consecutive points to put Duquesne ahead 38-35. By then, the Dukes were in the bonus and would be in the double bonus two minutes later. Duquesne stretched its lead to seven points at 12:07 on Bailee Steele's 3-pointer that made the score 47-40.

UAB would chip away at the lead, going ahead for good on Tavin Lovan's jumper at 5:37. Up one point with 2:03 remaining, the Blazers went on a 10-0 run to take a 76-65 lead with 20 seconds remaining.

"It was such a big win for us against a Duquesne team that was undefeated coming into today's game," said head coach Robert Ehsan. "What a gutsy win. Different guys at different times contributed. Having to fight through foul trouble and coming out with a win is a testament on how hard our guys played."

UAB got to the line a season-best 31 times and made 23 of those attempts – also a season-best. They shot over 50 percent from the floor for the second straight game and third in their last four, converting 24-of-45 attempts for 53.5 percent. The Blazers held a 34-28 rebound edge and outscored the Dukes in the paint 30-26.

After Christmas break, the Blazers return home for a matchup against Thomas on Dec. 28 before opening Conference USA play at Charlotte on Jan. 2.

Single game tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking here or by calling the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at 205-975-UAB1. Discounted group tickets and fan experiences are available for a minimum purchase of 20 tickets. To inquire about group tickets for the 2019-20 season, please contact Chris Curtis at (205) 934-3172 or ccurtis2@uab.edu.
Along with single game and group tickets which are already on sale, fans now have the option to purchase a four-game mini plan which offers the flexibility of attending any four Conference USA games at Bartow Arena for only $40 in the upper level. The C-USA Pick 4 Mini Plan can be purchased by clicking here or by calling the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at 205-975-UAB1.