The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Saturday, February 16
Bowling Green, Ky.
2 p.m.
UAB
16-11, 8-6
68
at
60
WKU
16-11, 9-5
1
2
F
UAB
28
40
68
WKU
23
37
60
UAB Defeats WKU 68-60 to Earn Berth in C-USA Top Pod
2/16/2019 5:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The UAB men's basketball team led WKU for 39 minutes en route to a 68-60 victory over the Hilltoppers on Saturday Afternoon at Diddle Arena.
The win, coupled with a North Texas loss, moved UAB into the top pod for Conference USA bonus play which begins next Saturday, Feb. 23. The Blazers will be the five-seed and are joined by Old Dominion, WKU, UTSA and Southern Miss in pod one.
In a homecoming game for Tavin Lovan, the freshman had his first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Zack Bryant led UAB with 24 points for his fifth 20+ point performance of the season, and Lewis Sullivan chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.
UAB (16-11, 8-6 C-USA) shot 46.9 percent from the floor (23-of-49) and 44.4 percent from behind the arc (8-of-18), while holding WKU to 37.5 percent. The Hilltoppers (16-11, 9-5 C-USA) were led by Charles Bassey with 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting, but the rest of WKU was 14-of-51 combined.
The Blazers' defense was extremely disruptive in the first 10 minutes as WKU only made four of its first 20 shots. During the stretch, the Blazers used a 7-0 run to gain an 18-8 advantage at the under 8-media timeout.
The Hilltoppers though, made their next four shots and used an 11-2 run to get with one (20-19) with 3:46 remaining in the half.
Behind nine first half points for Bryant, the Blazers took a 28-23 lead into halftime. Lovan had six points and six rebounds and helped UAB shoot 46.2 percent in the opening 20 minutes.
WKU shot 32 percent in the first half behind 6-of-8 shooting and 15 points from Bassey, but the rest of his team was 4-of-23, including 0-12 from long range.
The Hilltoppers would get within one (33-32) with 13:41 left, but that's as close as they would get as UAB scored the next five points to extend the lead back to six.
The Blazers gained a 41-32 advantage when Lovan hit his second 3-pointer of the game with 10:37 remaining, and the lead reached 14 (55-41) after a tip-in from Sullivan with 4:21 left.
Sullivan's 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 1:25 left gave UAB a 62-49 advantage, but WKU made three 3-pointers in the final minute and continued to foul down the stretch. UAB went 6-for-10 at the line to keep WKU at a distance.
Needing two wins to have a chance for the top pod in bonus play, the Blazers led for 79 of 80 minutes on the road trip which featured wins over Marshall and WKU.
Conference USA will announce opponents, locations and dates this evening for bonus play.
The win, coupled with a North Texas loss, moved UAB into the top pod for Conference USA bonus play which begins next Saturday, Feb. 23. The Blazers will be the five-seed and are joined by Old Dominion, WKU, UTSA and Southern Miss in pod one.
In a homecoming game for Tavin Lovan, the freshman had his first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Zack Bryant led UAB with 24 points for his fifth 20+ point performance of the season, and Lewis Sullivan chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.
UAB (16-11, 8-6 C-USA) shot 46.9 percent from the floor (23-of-49) and 44.4 percent from behind the arc (8-of-18), while holding WKU to 37.5 percent. The Hilltoppers (16-11, 9-5 C-USA) were led by Charles Bassey with 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting, but the rest of WKU was 14-of-51 combined.
The Blazers' defense was extremely disruptive in the first 10 minutes as WKU only made four of its first 20 shots. During the stretch, the Blazers used a 7-0 run to gain an 18-8 advantage at the under 8-media timeout.
The Hilltoppers though, made their next four shots and used an 11-2 run to get with one (20-19) with 3:46 remaining in the half.
Behind nine first half points for Bryant, the Blazers took a 28-23 lead into halftime. Lovan had six points and six rebounds and helped UAB shoot 46.2 percent in the opening 20 minutes.
WKU shot 32 percent in the first half behind 6-of-8 shooting and 15 points from Bassey, but the rest of his team was 4-of-23, including 0-12 from long range.
The Hilltoppers would get within one (33-32) with 13:41 left, but that's as close as they would get as UAB scored the next five points to extend the lead back to six.
The Blazers gained a 41-32 advantage when Lovan hit his second 3-pointer of the game with 10:37 remaining, and the lead reached 14 (55-41) after a tip-in from Sullivan with 4:21 left.
Sullivan's 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 1:25 left gave UAB a 62-49 advantage, but WKU made three 3-pointers in the final minute and continued to foul down the stretch. UAB went 6-for-10 at the line to keep WKU at a distance.
Needing two wins to have a chance for the top pod in bonus play, the Blazers led for 79 of 80 minutes on the road trip which featured wins over Marshall and WKU.
Conference USA will announce opponents, locations and dates this evening for bonus play.
Team Stats
UAB
WKU
FG%
.469
.375
3FG%
.444
.222
FT%
.636
.667
RB
41
32
TO
14
8
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
Guard
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