UAB Men’s Basketball Captures AAC Tournament Championship

Sunday, March 17

Fort Worth, Texas

2:15 p.m.

UAB

23-11,12-6AAC

Temple

16-20,5-13AAC

Temple

UAB

UAB Men’s Basketball Captures AAC Tournament Championship

3/17/2024 7:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Postgame Press Conference

FORT WORTH, Texas – UAB men's basketball (23-11) earned the American Conference Tournament title with an 85-69 win over Temple (16-20), punching a ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the last three seasons.

Alejandro Vasquez led the Blazers with a career high 29 points while shooting 11-for-16 from the field. He got UAB started in the first half with 21 of his 29 coming in the first 20 minutes.

The junior from Queens, N.Y. had 16 of UAB's first 20 points, helping the Blazers get out to a 20-10 lead over the first 10 minutes. After Temple cut the UAB advantage to just four, the Blazers went on an 11-0 run that included six points from UAB forward Christian Coleman. UAB led 43-27 at the break.

The Blazers opened the second half with an immediate 12-2 run over three minutes, which was punctuated by a Christian Coleman dunk with an assist from Alejandro Vasquez's pass off the backboard.

The Owls worked the UAB lead back down below 20 points at the 9:14 mark and cut it down to as few as 12 points, but the Blazers were able to hold them off. UAB captured the American Conference Tournament title in its first season since joining the league with the 85-69 win.

NOTES

UAB captured its sixth conference tournament title and eighth overall conference championship.
Alejandro Vasquez scored a career high 29 points while shooting 11-for-16 from the field and 5-for-6 from three.
Eric Gaines did a little bit of everything with 15 points, six rebounds, nine assists, five steals and three blocks.
Christian Coleman scored in double figures for the sixth straight game, adding 15 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Yaxel Lendeborg posted his 19^th double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds while adding four assists.

UP NEXT
The Blazers will face No. 5 seed San Diego State on Friday, March 22 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Spokane, Washington. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. CT on TNT.

NCAA TOURNAMENT TICKETS
Tickets for the first round of the NCAA Tournament are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking here.

Blazer Boosters members and UAB men's basketball season ticket holders have until Monday, March 18 at 2 p.m. CST to take advantage of their current priority. Ticket requests and seat locations will be allocated based on the Blazer Boosters Priority Point System starting at 2 p.m. on Monday afternoon. Any tickets secured following Monday afternoon will be allocated at the time of purchase.

2024-25 SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets for the 2024-25 UAB men's basketball season are now available. Season ticket packages will feature all home games during the 2024-25 basketball season and provide the most cost-effective way to attend games at Bartow Arena. Fans may purchase new season tickets or request more information on season ticket options here. Season ticket renewal applications will be available in the coming month leading into the September 1, 2024 men's basketball priority seat deadline. For more information about season ticket pricing, call the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1.

POWER UP
UAB Athletics is excited to officially compete in the American Athletic Conference and needs Blazer Nation to Power Up by becoming a 2024 Blazer Boosters member. Join Blazer Boosters today as UAB student-athletes complete for championships, graduate with honors, and make a difference in our community.

FOLLOW THE BLAZERS
For more information on the UAB men's basketball team, follow @UAB_MBB on Twitter and Instagram.