Blazers Come Up Short at No. 24 Middle Tennessee

Saturday, February 24

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

6:00 PM

UAB

17-12, 8-8

Middle Tennessee

23-5, 15-1

UAB

Middle Tennessee

Blazers Come Up Short at No. 24 Middle Tennessee

2/24/2018 8:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Not much went right for the UAB men's basketball team on Saturday night in a 79-54 loss to Conference USA leading and 24th-ranked Middle Tennessee at the Murphy Center.

The Blazers turned the ball over often early in the game, had trouble defending the Blue Raiders at times and shot poorly from the outside. Add it up and you have a frustrating evening for the Blazers.

"Very disappointing from our group to not come in here and play better," said UAB head coach Robert Ehsan, whose team hadn't played since winning at Southern Miss last Saturday. "It was somewhat unexpected, coming off the week of feeling good about ourselves after last Saturday's game. For us to not play well, give them credit. When we got down, we fragmented, which is unfortunate, it's unacceptable and we have to learn from it."

It doesn't take long to find problem areas for UAB when checking out the final box score. None hurt as bad, though, then the turnover department and 3-point shooting (1-of-17). UAB (17-12 overall, 8-8 C-USA) committed 16 turnovers, with 10 of those coming in a frustrating first half, and the Blue Raiders (23-5 overall, 15-1 C-USA) turned those turnovers into 28 points.

"Ten in the first half, I thought that was the biggest thing," Ehsan said. "And, then, we were 1-from-10 from the 3-point line in the first half. Against the No. 1 team in the conference, you can't turn the ball over and shoot the ball that poorly in the first half and expect to have a chance to win."

UAB was down just 7-6 in the first five minutes of the game but turnovers, poor shooting and some defensive lapses helped the Blue Raiders extend the lead to double digits. Nick King hit a 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer to begin a 10-0 run that stretched the lead to 17-6. Not long after, the Blue Raiders had another quick burst – scoring eight consecutive points – to take a 27-11 lead.

The Blazers had chances to whittle away at the lead but missed several open opportunities. Middle Tennessee hit a 3-pointer at the first half buzzer to take a 40-19 lead into halftime.

UAB opened the half with a layup by Nick Norton. Unfortunately, that wasn't a sign of things to come for the Blazers. Instead, the Blue Raiders got a series of quality shots and outscored the Blazers, 14-4, over the first three minutes of the second half.

"We said, let's cut it to 10 with 10 minutes to go," Ehsan said of the halftime approach. "To give up easy baskets to start the half, especially inside, that was frustrating. They just got layups to start the second half. We didn't compete on the defensive end."

It hurt on both ends that Chris Cokley continues to be hampered by back problems. The 6-foot-8 senior, who is still playing hard and competing, had six points and four rebounds in 16 minutes.

"He wants to finish his career at UAB strong," Ehsan said. "He's fighting through, doing everything he can."

Freshman Zack Bryant and junior Jalen Perry were the lone double figure scorers for the Blazers on Saturday night. Bryant had 13 points, six rebounds and three assists but also had four turnovers. Perry had 10 points and five rebounds.

For more information on UAB men's basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), Instagram (@UAB_MBB) and Snapchat (@UAB_MBB).