After taking back the lead in the middle of the second half, UAB kept the lead to defeat Old Dominion 76-69 in game one of a two game series after being swept by Louisiana Tech last week.

“The room after the game was good, there was a little bit of an exhale, but hopefully we can take care of our bodies come back tomorrow and get another win,” said head coach Andy Kennedy on the win.

Tavin Lovan led the Blazers in points with 25 while also getting a pair of assists and steals. Tyreek Scott-Grayson also contributed 24 points grabbing six rebounds and two steals.

Kalu Ezikpe led the Monarchs in points scoring 17 and grabbing eight rebounds.

UAB started the game with a dunk from Kassim Nicholson. While leading early in the first half, the Blazers would go on a 9-0 run, increasing the lead to 15-7. UAB would continue to lead until the last five minutes of the first half with three different lead changes until Old Dominion’s Xavier Green hit a good jumper with a 1:31 minutes remaining. The Blazers would trail the Monarchs 32-30 at the end of the first half.

At the start of the second half, UAB was able to tie Old Dominion before finally taking the lead with a 3-pointer from Scott-Grayson. After that, the Blazers took the lead again thanks to a 9-0 run increasing their lead to 59-48 with 8:29 remaining. UAB continued to lead the game by double digits until the last two and a half minutes when Old Dominion scored five points in a row. The Blazers would shoot their last seven out of nine points for free throws and ended winning the game 76-69.

UAB (17-4, 10-3) will play Old Dominion (11-6, 7-4) again tomorrow Saturday, Feb. 20 at Bartow Arena at 3p.m.