Men's Basketball Falls to Clemson in Heartbreaker

Friday, November 10

Asheville, N.C.

8:30 p.m.

UAB

0-2,0-0AAC

Clemson

2-0,0-0ACC

Team	1	2	F
Clemson	39	38	77
UAB	42	34	76

Photo by: Griffin Levy (UAB Creative Services)

Men's Basketball Falls to Clemson in Heartbreaker

11/11/2023 1:09:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UAB men's basketball (0-2) fell to Clemson (2-0) in a game that came down to the final moments. The Tigers hit two free throws with 3.4 seconds on the clock to win it, 77-76.

Javian Davis picked up his second foul with 15:09 on the clock in the first half with the score tied at 10, and Clemson took advantage early. The Tigers stretched the lead to eight at 23-15, but the Blazers began to chip away.

UAB regained the lead with 5:32 left in the half when James White finished a layup on an inbounds play. Efrem "Butta" Johnson capped off the 10-0 Blazer run with a three to put UAB ahead 35-31 in the first half.

With the clock running down in the first half, Johnson found Eric Gaines for a three on the left wing to put UAB ahead 42-39 going into the break.

UAB extended the lead to nine points early in the second half after Gaines found Davis under the basket for a layup.

Two of the Blazers' big men found themselves in foul trouble early in the second half. Within the span of only two minutes, Yaxel Lendeborg and Javian Davis picked up five combined fouls to foul out of the contest. Davis was forced to leave the game at the 10:02 mark after picking up his last two fouls over the span of 18 seconds. Clemson then cut the UAB lead to just three.

Despite being severely shorthanded, the Blazers did not go away. Gaines and Johnson scored the next five points to extend the lead to eight with 8:08 on the clock. Alejandro Vasquez grabbed a long rebound and took it all the way in for a layup with 7:01 on the clock to take a 67-58 lead.

Clemson then took control, going on a 14-0 lead. The Tigers led 72-67 with three minutes to go before Johnson hit a three to stop the UAB drought.

Tony Toney blocked a Clemson layup with a minute to go, starting the UAB fast break where Eric Gaines knocked down a three to regain the lead at 73-72 with 52 seconds remaining. PJ Hall was then able to collect an offensive rebound and turned it into a three-point play on the ensuing possession.

Johnson stepped up again for the Blazers in the clutch. With nine seconds to go, Tony Toney found him in the corner for a go-ahead three, putting the score at 76-75.

On the Tigers' final possession, a foul was called, and Chase Hunter had the chance to shoot two free throws to take the lead with 3.4 seconds to go. Eric Gaines' last second heave did not go down, giving Clemson the 77-76 win.

NOTES

Efrem "Butta" Johnson scored a career high 17 points while knocking down a career best three three-pointers.
Eric Gaines scored 18 points, dished out three assists and had four steals.
The Blazers played 11 different players in Friday's contest for at least 12 minutes each.
Alejandro Vasquez scored in double figures for the first time as a Blazer, adding 11 points.

UP NEXT
The Blazers will face Maryland on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. CT to wrap up the Asheville Championship. The game will air on ESPN2.

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