Men’s Basketball Comes Up Short Against FAU

Wednesday, January 7

Birmingham, Ala.

6:30 PM

UAB

10-6,1-2American

Florida Atlantic

10-6,2-1American

Fla. Atlantic

UAB

Men’s Basketball Comes Up Short Against FAU

1/7/2026 9:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Presser

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB Men's Basketball team (10-6) fell to Florida Atlantic (9-6) in 76-71 on Wednesday night in Bartow Arena. UAB was led by Chance Westry with 17 points and Daniel Rivera with 11. Evan Chatman led the team with 15 rebounds (tied his career high).

East Carolina was led by Kanaan Carlyle who scored 25 points and Devin Vanterpool who had 19 shots.

Game Notes

Quaran McPherson made consecutive starts for the first time as a Blazer.
UAB entered the game on a three-game winning streak over the Owls.
Florida Atlantic's 1.176 points per possession in the first half were the most by a UAB opponent this season.
The Owls scored 40 points in the first half, the second most by a UAB opponent this season in the opening frame (NC State - 41).
Evan Chatman tied his career high in rebounds with 15. He accomplished that feat on Dec. 5, 2025, at Drake.
Ari Gooch had a career-high eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, including his first career make from beyond the arc.
Chance Westry led the Blazers with 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting and a perfect six-for-six from the free-throw line.
UAB shot 36.7% from the field (22-for-60), 31.8% from three (7-for-22), and 71.4% from the free-throw line (20-for-28).
UAB had 43 bench points, the second most this season (46 vs Rhodes)
UAB starters had just 28 points, the least this season (next lowest: 35 vs UNC Asheville)
UAB committed 12 turnovers, tied for the second most this season (14 at NCST, 12 vs Alabama State)
UAB was outrebounded for the third consecutive game, the fourth time overall this season.

How it Happened

Florida Atlantic started the scoring with a jumper in the lane by Devin Vanterpool [0-2].
A Vanterpool three, followed by another long-distance make from Kanaan Carlyle put the Owls up 8-2 before consecutive Elohim lay-ins gave Florida Atlantic a nine-point lead [3-12].
Westry made the first field goal of the game for UAB, connecting on a three from the left wing [6-12].
Another FAU three-pointer and a KyeRon Lindsay-Martin lay-up took a seven-point Owl lead into the first media break of the game [8-15].
Evan Chatman hit his first three of the night at the 6:53 mark [23-29].
A 6-0 run by the Owls, including four points by Devin Willaims, extended the FAU lead to 12 points with six minutes left in the half.
The Blazers shut down the Florida Atlantic offense to end the first half, stopping the Owls on their last six possessions of the half [33-40].
FAU started the second half on a 4-0 run [33-44].
Gooch scored five straight for the Blazers before a Rivera tip-in cut the Owl lead down to six [40-46].
A pair of Carlyle threes put Florida Atlantic back up 10, giving Carlyle 19 points on the night [42-52].
Westry's fifth made shot of the night and a Dayjaun Anderson three pulled the Blazers within five heading into the under-12 media timeout [47-52].
FAU went for over six minutes without a field goal from the 14:00 mark to the 7:01
A 10-3 UAB scoring run, including five straight points to force an FAU timeout, pulled the Blazers within one, the narrowest margin since the first made basket of the game.
A Robinson corner three off the inbound gave UAB its first lead of the game, mounting a 13-point comeback.
A 15-4 run by FAU put the Owls up 64-73 with less than a minute to play.
A pair of UAB field goals and free throws for both sides cut the final score to a five-point margin.
Final score: Florida Atlantic 76, UAB 71