Jordan Walker was hard to miss with his blue and pink sneakers running up and down the floor. And after three straight three-pointers to the start the game, it was impossible not to notice him.
Those three-pointers began a dominant first half that saw the Blazers lead by as much as 27. A quieter second half closed that margin a bit, but UAB still took an 85-71 victory over Morehead State.
Walker finished with 23 points, one point shy of his career high of 24. Quan Jackson added 15 and Tavin Lovan added ten.
For the Morehead State, Johni Boome had 20 points and Skyelar Potter added another 15. Both also had double-doubles as the Eagles outrebounded UAB 38-21.
Jackson’s game was as exciting as anyone else on the court. He netted six steals and found opportunities to convert those into electrifying dunks.
“That’s really how you build a game by turning defense into offense: easy buckets,” Jackson said.
The team shot 63.3% from the field and 50.0 percent from three in the first half. They were strong on the other end of the court as well, holding Morehead State to 45.5% shooting and forcing thirteen turnovers.
Those turnovers led to fastbreak points such as back-to-back dunks from Quan Jackson and Josh LeBlanc off steals with around four minutes left in the first half.
The Blazers pulled their foot off the gas in the second half. Morehead State outscored UAB 48-39 but could never get the margin back to single digits.
The half was chippy on both sides. Two UAB starters, Trey Jemison and KJ Buffen, fouled out with minutes left in the game. UAB had three technical fouls and Morehead State had two of their own as the game got heated.
Morehead State used those fouls to power their offense in the second half. The Eagles made 18 of their 23 free throw attempts. A number of second chance opportunities to score provided another boost. The Eagles had 14 second chance points to UAB’s two in this game.
The Eagles pulled the margin to fifteen points midway through the second half but found themselves unable to close the difference as the game went on.
Head coach Andy Kennedy said he was happy with how his team performed in the first half but thought that the game showed several areas for improvement.
“We were really hitting on all cylinders [in the first half],” Kennedy said. “I can’t say that I wasn’t surprised that there would be a little let up in the second half. We just stopped defending, stopped trying to rebound the ball. We looked as if we just tried to get to the finish line.”
The Blazer did get to the finish line and are now 2-0. They will face Division III Rhodes College on Sunday, Nov. 14. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. from Bartow Arena. The game will also be available to stream on CUSA.tv.
