Blazers Fall Short at Louisiana Tech

Thursday, February 15

Ruston, La.

8:00 PM

UAB

-1611, 77 CUSA

Louisiana Tech

-1611, 77 CUSA

UAB

Louisiana Tech

Blazers Fall Short at Louisiana Tech

2/15/2018 11:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech blitzed UAB at the start and finish of Thursday night's Conference USA matchup between the two teams' matchup at the Thomas Assembly Center. In between, the Blazers didn't shoot well, turned the ball over too much and gave up too many threes.

All in all, it was the recipe for a difficult evening for UAB in the Blazers' 73-60 loss to the Bulldogs.

"I thought turnovers hurt us, especially at critical times," said UAB head coach Robert Ehsan. "We had three offensive fouls in the last minute, I thought were crucial. We had fought back. We didn't shoot the ball well and it's hard to win on the road when you do that. We didn't turn them over enough."

The Blazers also had some positive moments and statistics. Nate Darling hit his first four 3-pointers and finished the game with five 3-pointers and did a good job defensively when asked to guard Bulldog standout Jacobi Boykins. Zack Bryant scored 16 points, to move within two points of setting the school record for points in a season by a freshman. The Blazers owned the boards, outrebounding the Bulldogs, 45-33, with Chris Cokley grabbing 13 rebounds.

However, even some of the positives came with a negative. As well as Bryant played, he also committed four offensive fouls and turned the ball over six times. And, regarding the rebounding advantage, UAB grabbed 15 rebounds on the offensive end but turned those into just six points.

Louisiana Tech, which was coming off a 20-point home loss to Old Dominion, started quickly. The Bulldogs led, 11-3, four minutes into the game and built a first half advantage that extended to as many as 14 points.

UAB used a 12-1 run to almost completely erase a 26-12 deficit. Darling opened the run with a 3-pointer and Bryant and Cokley combined for the other nine points. However, the Bulldogs managed to take a 33-26 lead into halftime.

The Blazers were able to tie the score at 45 with 11:59 left in the game. It came after a Cokley dunk, two Bryant free throws and a 3-pointer by Darling comprised a 7-0 run. After the teams traded baskets, the momentum quickly dissolved.

Louisiana Tech hit back-to-back 3-pointers and followed with a dunk to build the lead back to 55-47. Makhtar Gueye ended the streak with a follow shot on a fast break but the Bulldogs added yet another 3-pointer to take a 58-49 lead. UAB trimmed the lead back to six points on a layup and free throw by Jalen Perry but turnovers kept the Blazers, who shot 36 percent from the field, from getting any closer.

"We challenged them about getting tougher, that was the frustrating thing, playing with more confidence and playing harder, especially on the defensive end," Ehsan said of the postgame atmosphere for his team.

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