The UAB men’s basketball team powered a 63-51 win over UTEP behind a double-double from Trey Jemison. With the win, the Blazers improve to 15-2 and 8-1 in conference play. They remain in first place in Conference USA’s west division.
The Blazers never trailed, but they were never quite able to shake UTEP.
UAB was first on the board with Jemison scoring off his own offensive rebound. They led by as many as 11 in the first period, but the lead was only four heading into halftime.
At the start of the second half, Michael Ertel notched back-to-back baskets and Quan Jackson scored a jumper to push the lead to ten. The Miners would claw back at the lead throughout the second half, but they never truly threatened. By the final minutes, UAB was shooting free throws to ice the game and stretch the lead.
It was Jackson’s best game since he returned from a partial tear to his MCL that occurred in December. He had 18 points and six rebounds. In one particularly physical play, caught the ball right as a defender shot it.
“We saw the old Quan,” said head coach Andy Kennedy.
Jemison was dominant on the night bringing down his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks.
“The MVP of the game in my opinion was Trey Jemison,” said Kennedy. “He’s been playing very good basketball for us.”
Ertel also added 14 points behind a dominant second-half performance.
For the Miners, Souley Boum led with 22 points and Bryson Williams added 19 points and eight rebounds. UTEP had little depth to show, playing their three best players a full 40 minutes.
Despite injuries in the last week’s game, Tyreek Scott-Grayson and Jalen Benjamin played, but both saw reduced minutes. Scott-Grayson had missed some reps, but Benjamin had not missed a practice.
The Blazers were physical scoring 42 points in the paint and outrebounding UTEP by 11. They continued to struggle offensively, however. They shot 1-10 from behind the 3-point arc and had more turnovers than assists.
“Offensively, we cannot seem to string together enough creative possessions to be able to put teams away,” said Kennedy.
The longtime Conference USA rivals will meet again tomorrow, February 6, in Bartow. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and available to listen to on WJQX 100.5 in Birmingham.
