DENTON, Texas – Four Blazer starters reached double figures to propel the UAB men’s basketball team to a key road victory at North Texas on Thursday night in The Super Pit. UAB’s win not only makes it five straight victories in Denton, but it also marks the Blazers’ second straight NET Quadrant I road victory of the season.
After North Texas (8-4, 1-1 C-USA) took a 56-54 lead with 7:05 remaining in the second half, the Blazers clawed their way back into the lead behind a quick 5-0 spurt. Tavin Lovan tied the game for the Blazers with a tough finish inside the paint before Michael Ertel drilled a 3-pointer in the right corner to make it 59-56 UAB with 5:58 left on the clock.
UAB never trailed again.
The Mean Green trimmed the Blazers’ advantage to two points behind a jumper in the paint from guard Tylor Perry, making it 63-61 UAB with 2:46 remaining. Jordan Walker then helped the Blazers close out the game on the offensive end, drilling a fadeaway jumper from the right baseline before nailing two free throws with under a minute remaining to make it 67-61 Blazers with 42 seconds left on the clock.
UAB (13-3, 3-0 C-USA) dominated on the glass in Thursday night’s victory, outrebounding the Mean Green 39-25 and 13-5 on the offensive glass. UAB is now a perfect 9-0 in games when it outrebounds its opponent. The Blazers also posted a 15-1 advantage in second-chance points.
“I thought the key to the game was the fact that we dominated them on the glass and held them to only five offensive rebounds while we had 13,” head coach Andy Kennedy said. “It created extra possessions in a game where possessions are at a premium based on their chosen style of play.
“Down the stretch not only were we able to string together multiple stops, but we also executed and got the ball to the right guys in the right spots.”
After North Texas opened the game with a 3-pointer, UAB responded with 10 straight points to take a 10-3 lead in The Super Pit. Walker tied the game on the Blazers’ first offensive possession with a 3-pointer before buckets in the paint from center Trey Jemison helped extend UAB’s advantage to seven points before the first media timeout.
Jemison dominated in the paint throughout Thursday’s game, finishing with a season-high 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field after going 4-of-4 from the field in the first half.
North Texas cut into UAB’s early lead with a 12-2 run, trimming its deficit to just a single point at 19-18 UAB with 10:17 remaining in the first half. Quan Jackson then sparked a 7-0 on his own to stretch a one-point UAB lead into a 26-18 Blazers’ advantage in only 1:17. Jackson opened the run with a 3-pointer, collected a steal and finished with a two-handed slam and then capped it off with a transition jumper. Jackson paced UAB with 10 points, four rebounds and two steals at the halftime break.
UAB shot 53.6% from the field in the first half (15-of-28) and went 4-of-6 from behind the 3-point line to hold a 35-34 lead after the first 20 minutes. UAB outrebounded North Texas 19-9 in the first half, pulling down seven offensive rebounds compared to just two from the Mean Green.
The Blazers overcame two deficits in the final 20 minutes to earn the victory, erasing a two-point deficit at 39-37 Mean Green with four straight made free throws from KJ Buffen. Buffen finished Thursday’s game with 13 points and six rebounds.
Walker paced UAB in scoring with 17 points, while Jemison (14), Buffen (13) and Jackson (11) rounded out the Blazers in double figures. Josh LeBlanc, Sr. paced the Blazers with eight rebounds in the victory.
Thursday’s Conference USA victory also marked back-to-back 3-0 starts in league play for UAB for the first time since 2014-15 and 2015-16. The win snapped North Texas’ six-game winning streak.
UAB will conclude its Texas road swing on Saturday when the Green and Gold take on Rice in Houston. Saturday’s tipoff in Tudor Fieldhouse is set for 3 p.m. and will be carried live on Stadium.
