Blazers Come Back from 17-Point Deficit to Defeat Santa Clara

Sunday, March 23

Santa Clara, Calif.

8 p.m.

UAB

24-12,13-5AAC

Santa Clara

21-13,12-6WCC

UAB

Santa Clara

Photo by: Mario Terrana

Blazers Come Back from 17-Point Deficit to Defeat Santa Clara

3/24/2025 1:40:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Christian Coleman and Yaxel Lendeborg led UAB men's basketball (24-12) to an 88-84 win over Santa Clara (21-13) after trailing by 17 points in the second half.

Lendeborg finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks while Coleman added 21 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Santa Clara built its lead to double digits in the first half. The Broncos went on an 8-0 run starting at the 8:38 mark to jump out to a 30-18 lead.

Lendeborg kept the Blazers in it with 10 points in the first half while Alejandro Vasquez had eight.

Trailing by nine in the final moments of the first half, Yaxel Lendeborg buried a jumper to cut the Santa Clara advantage to 44-37 at the break.

The Broncos came out of the locker room and dominated the first four minutes of the second half. Santa Clara jumped ahead to a 17-point lead with 15:59 to go in the game at 59-42.

UAB did not back down and responded with a 10-0 run that included a pair of threes from Efrem "Butta" Johnson.

Christian Coleman brought the Blazers within a possession with a fastbreak dunk to make it 65-63 with 11:29 remaining. Coleman scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, sparking the Blazers' resurgence.

Ja'Borri McGhee tied it up at 73 with a triple from the top of the key at the 7:45 mark before Coleman hit a pair of free throws to give UAB its first lead since early in the first half.

The Blazers were able to close the game strong as Yaxel Lendeborg went 4-for-4 at the line in the final two minutes to finish with the 88-84 victory over the Broncos.

NOTES

The Blazers overcame a double-digit second half deficit for the first time since December 29, 2023 against UNC Asheville.
Yaxel Lendeborg scored 22 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out seven assists, had three steals and blocked two shots for his nation-leading 25^th double-double of the season.
Lendeborg became the first Blazer to ever reach 400 rebounds in a single season.
Christian Coleman scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds in the win.
UAB is 13-1 over the last two seasons when Coleman scores 15 or more points.
The Blazers hit a season-high 11 threes in the win, their most since January 2, 2024 against UTSA.

UP NEXT
The Blazers will travel to UC Irvine to take on the Anteaters on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

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