Blazers Fall Short Against Middle Tennessee in C-USA Opener

Saturday, December 30

Bartow Arena

4:00 PM

UAB

9-5, 0-1

Middle Tennessee

9-4, 1-0

Middle Tennessee

UAB

Blazers Fall Short Against Middle Tennessee in C-USA Opener

12/30/2017 7:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – UAB head coach Robert Ehsan will take plenty of time to analyze what happened – both good and bad – in the Blazers' Conference USA opening 63-60 loss to Middle Tennessee on Saturday at Bartow Arena.

Before he does that, however, Ehsan quickly broke down what ultimately happened in the narrow loss to a team that is coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.

"They made one more play than us," said Ehsan.

In a game that featured 15 lead changes, 12 moments when it was tied and no lead bigger than five points, that pretty much sums it up.

"Frustrating outcome," said Ehsan, whose team fell to 9-5. "I thought it was a very well-played game. Not a whole lot of mistakes made by either team. I thought it was a tough, physical, grind-it-out game. We didn't shoot the ball particularly well from the free throw line, which we've done (well) all year. I thought that was the difference in the game."

It was certainly the difference in the final few seconds. UAB freshman Zack Bryant needed to hit two free throws to tie the game at 61 with 13.3 seconds remaining. He rattled in the first one but the second one rolled out. Middle Tennessee not only got the rebound but was able to run off all but 2.6 seconds before Nick King went to the foul line. King hit both free throws to pad the advantage to three points. UAB got the ball to a sprinting Nick Norton at midcourt, but the best he could do was throw up an off balance shot from there and the Blue Raiders escaped with the win.

"It's really tough," said Norton. "I feel like this game is the exact same, every time we play them. Very physical, it comes down to the last few seconds. They got a huge offensive rebound towards the end that won them the game."

That offensive rebound came from King, who grabbed his own miss, converted the layup while getting fouled and made the free throw to give the Blue Raiders a 61-59 lead with 1:41 left.

It wasn't surprising that King made the big plays at the end. The senior transfer finished with a game-high 30 points. Early in the first half, he carried the Blue Raiders offense while the Blazers relied on balance.

Middle Tennessee (9-4) showed right away that they wanted someone other than Chris Cokley to beat them. The senior forward was double teamed on nearly every touch, but he remained patient and found open teammates. Cokley had four assists in the first half and ended the game with five assists.

"I thought he stayed really patient," Ehsan said. "The double team bothered us a little bit and then we got them out of it."

UAB's largest lead of the first half came when Bryant's layup gave the Blazers an 18-14 advantage with 6:49 remaining. A late flurry by Giddy Potts ended up erasing UAB's lead and Potts' 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer gave Middle Tennessee a 30-29 halftime lead.

Neither team ran away in the second half. UAB sandwiched a pair of free throws by Cokley and Bryant around a Bryant layup to take a 46-44 lead with 9:36 remaining.

It was just one of many big plays from Bryant in the second half. The freshman guard scored 11 of his 15 points after halftime. He also added four rebounds and four assists and didn't turn the ball over in 35 minutes.

"He's a tough kid," Ehsan said. "He wants the ball in his hands, he wants that moment. He's very athletic. He's very confident for a freshman, obviously. I thought he played really well."

Middle Tennessee eventually built a five-point lead that was erased nearly four minutes later when Norton's huge 3-pointer from the right wing gave UAB a 57-56 lead with 2:37 left in the game.

King and William Lee traded a pair of free throws before King's big play on the offensive boards gave Middle Tennessee the lead for good.

UAB ended with Bryant, Lee (12 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals), Norton (11 points, three 3-pointers) and Cokley (11 points, eight rebounds, five assists, blocked shot, steal) in double figures in scoring.

The Blazers had 15 assists and just six turnovers and outscored the Blue Raiders, 13-5, off turnovers.

So, despite the final outcome, there are some things to build on now that conference play is started.

"If that's the best team in the league, we're in a good spot," Ehsan said.

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