The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Saturday, January 13
Bartow Arena
4:00 PM
UAB
13-5, 4-1
74
vs
62
Louisiana Tech
10-9, 1-5
1
2
F
Louisiana Tech
40
22
62
UAB
39
35
74
Photo by: Zach Bland
Cokley Powers Blazers Past Louisiana Tech
1/13/2018 7:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Chris Cokley played with some anger after being saddled on the bench with foul trouble late in the first half and early in the second half of UAB's 74-62 Conference USA victory over Louisiana Tech on Saturday at Bartow Arena.
In this case, anger – or more to the point, controlled anger – was a good thing for the UAB senior.
"He's playing with an edge, he's playing like he's angry and that's a good thing for us," said UAB head coach Robert Ehsan.
A strong night for Cokley was interrupted by foul trouble. He scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds in 14 first half minutes before his second foul sent him to the bench for the final 4:21 minutes before halftime. He got called for an offensive foul 19 seconds into the second half and headed back to the bench, where he remained for nearly seven minutes.
Cokley admitted there was frustration while sitting on the bench but he concentrated more on cheering for his team. When he came back in, Cokley said the focus was more on bringing energy to the team than worrying about the previous fouls.
Mission accomplished.
Cokley made 5-of-6 shots from the field, grabbed three rebounds, hustled for loose balls and drew a key charge. He did it all with a large dose of emotion.
"For the guys who have watched Chris Cokley throughout the years, he's grown up so much this year," Ehsan said. "I've been saying this a lot. His leadership out there is at another level. His motor is at another level. He's out there willing himself offensive rebounds."
He's also playing a big role on a team that has won four consecutive C-USA games by double digit margins. A team doesn't do that without a lot of key components.
On Saturday, it was Jalen Perry's turn to step up. The junior guard made his first six shots of the game, finished with 14 points and added two rebounds, four assists and a steal. He also was part of the defensive effort that slowed Jacobi Boykins down after the Louisiana Tech standout hit his first three 3-pointers of the games.
For Perry, it was a welcome evening after scoring just 12 points combined in the first four C-USA games.
"The last three games, for whatever reason, he just hasn't been shooting the ball great," Ehsan said. "But, he's had great practices. His energy and attitude have been great. Myself and Coach Devitt, told him that it's going to come. There's going to be a game where you're going to get going early and you're going to make a bunch of shots."
Saturday that came true.
"We don't win that game without Jalen Perry," said Ehsan, whose team also got 11 points, four assists and two steals from Zack Bryant and under-the-radar key performances from Lewis Sullivan (eight rebounds, three assists) and Makhtar Gueye.
Perry scored a pair of early baskets and his first 3-pointer came during a stretch where UAB finally erased an early Louisiana Tech lead. Perry's 3-pointer was part of a 11-2 UAB run that turned a five-point deficit into a 26-22 lead with 6:42 left.
The Blazers (13-5 overall, 4-1 C-USA) eventually stretched the lead to 37-29 on a driving layup by Nate Darling with 22:27 left, but the Bulldogs (10-9 overall, 1-5 C-USA) managed to carry a 40-39 lead into halftime.
It remained a tight game for most of the first 10 minutes of the second half, but, eventually the Blazers wore down the Bulldogs. The Blazers used a 9-0 run to turn a three-point lead into 62-50 advantage with 8:15 left.
The Bulldogs never got closer than nine points after that, largely because of a UAB defensive effort that limited Louisiana Tech to 30.7 percent shooting from the field after halftime and forced 10 second half turnovers.
"That's the first time since the Middle Tennessee game that we've really been in a back and forth, tough game," Ehsan said. "I thought, in the second half, our defense was outstanding, maybe as good as we've played there for a while. For 15 minutes, I thought our defense was superb, especially given the foul trouble that Chris and William Lee were in."
For more information on UAB men's basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), Instagram (@UAB_MBB) and Snapchat (@UAB_MBB).
In this case, anger – or more to the point, controlled anger – was a good thing for the UAB senior.
"He's playing with an edge, he's playing like he's angry and that's a good thing for us," said UAB head coach Robert Ehsan.
A strong night for Cokley was interrupted by foul trouble. He scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds in 14 first half minutes before his second foul sent him to the bench for the final 4:21 minutes before halftime. He got called for an offensive foul 19 seconds into the second half and headed back to the bench, where he remained for nearly seven minutes.
Cokley admitted there was frustration while sitting on the bench but he concentrated more on cheering for his team. When he came back in, Cokley said the focus was more on bringing energy to the team than worrying about the previous fouls.
Mission accomplished.
Cokley made 5-of-6 shots from the field, grabbed three rebounds, hustled for loose balls and drew a key charge. He did it all with a large dose of emotion.
"For the guys who have watched Chris Cokley throughout the years, he's grown up so much this year," Ehsan said. "I've been saying this a lot. His leadership out there is at another level. His motor is at another level. He's out there willing himself offensive rebounds."
He's also playing a big role on a team that has won four consecutive C-USA games by double digit margins. A team doesn't do that without a lot of key components.
On Saturday, it was Jalen Perry's turn to step up. The junior guard made his first six shots of the game, finished with 14 points and added two rebounds, four assists and a steal. He also was part of the defensive effort that slowed Jacobi Boykins down after the Louisiana Tech standout hit his first three 3-pointers of the games.
For Perry, it was a welcome evening after scoring just 12 points combined in the first four C-USA games.
"The last three games, for whatever reason, he just hasn't been shooting the ball great," Ehsan said. "But, he's had great practices. His energy and attitude have been great. Myself and Coach Devitt, told him that it's going to come. There's going to be a game where you're going to get going early and you're going to make a bunch of shots."
Saturday that came true.
"We don't win that game without Jalen Perry," said Ehsan, whose team also got 11 points, four assists and two steals from Zack Bryant and under-the-radar key performances from Lewis Sullivan (eight rebounds, three assists) and Makhtar Gueye.
Perry scored a pair of early baskets and his first 3-pointer came during a stretch where UAB finally erased an early Louisiana Tech lead. Perry's 3-pointer was part of a 11-2 UAB run that turned a five-point deficit into a 26-22 lead with 6:42 left.
The Blazers (13-5 overall, 4-1 C-USA) eventually stretched the lead to 37-29 on a driving layup by Nate Darling with 22:27 left, but the Bulldogs (10-9 overall, 1-5 C-USA) managed to carry a 40-39 lead into halftime.
It remained a tight game for most of the first 10 minutes of the second half, but, eventually the Blazers wore down the Bulldogs. The Blazers used a 9-0 run to turn a three-point lead into 62-50 advantage with 8:15 left.
The Bulldogs never got closer than nine points after that, largely because of a UAB defensive effort that limited Louisiana Tech to 30.7 percent shooting from the field after halftime and forced 10 second half turnovers.
"That's the first time since the Middle Tennessee game that we've really been in a back and forth, tough game," Ehsan said. "I thought, in the second half, our defense was outstanding, maybe as good as we've played there for a while. For 15 minutes, I thought our defense was superb, especially given the foul trouble that Chris and William Lee were in."
For more information on UAB men's basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), Instagram (@UAB_MBB) and Snapchat (@UAB_MBB).
Team Stats
TECH
UAB
FG%
.400
.534
3FG%
.250
.400
FT%
.842
.462
RB
31
32
TO
18
13
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
11
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballCoffee with Coach | 2025 Week 6
Friday, September 19
Coffee with Coach | 2025 Week 4
Tuesday, September 16
UAB Athletics Live Stream
Monday, September 15
UAB Football Postgame Press Conference | Akron
Sunday, September 14
