With 1:18 left in the game, UAB’s KJ Buffen passed the ball to Trey Jemison for an authoritative dunk, giving the Blazers an eight-point lead. UAB (24-7) would maintain that lead and defeat Louisiana Tech (21-9) 87-74 in a battle for the second seed in Conference USA’s West division.
The game’s top scorers were Jordan Walker with 24 points and Mike Ertel with 20. Quan Jackson and Trey Jemison added 16 points each.
LA Tech played a great game against UAB led by C-USA player of the year contender Kenneth Lofton. Lofton grabbed 20 points, ten rebounds, and four assists.
Within the first minute and a half of the game, UAB took a five-point lead. UAB senior Ertel led the Blazers with twelve points, two assists and three steals in the first half.
After tying up the score six times, a buzzer-beater three-point shot by UAB’s Walker gave the Blazers the advantage at halftime.
LA Tech opened the second half with two at the line for Amorie Archibald. However, UAB’s Jemison quickly snuck in with a basket for the Blazers. UAB’s Jackson followed with a layup on the fast break.
In the second half, LA Tech’s Lofton scored 13 points for the Bulldogs, many of them hard-fought under the goal shots. UAB’s Jemison fought in many head-to-head battles with Lofton in this game.
Head Coach Andy Kennedy said that he is proud of Jemison’s battle against a formidable opponent like Lofton.
“[I’m] really proud of Trey’s effort,” said Kennedy. “Even though we had a little hiccup at the end, we ended the game on a positive note.”
UAB scored 48 points in the second half with 15 from Walker and 12 from Jemison. Walker closed out the game with a layup only eight seconds before the final buzzer.
This win puts the Blazers as the second seed on the west side of Conference USA going into the conference tournament. Jemison says that he and his team are using the momentum of this win to help them in the tournament.
“It’s major; we lost to North Texas on a buzzer-beater which hurt a lot, but winning four straight going to Frisco feels amazing, so next week should be pretty good,” said Jemison.
The game was senior day for the Blazers. Justin Brown, Mike Ertel and Quan Jackson were honored in a ceremony prior to tipoff.
UAB will return to play in round three of the Conference USA Championship Tournament on Feb. 10 at 8:30 pm in Frisco, Texas. They will face either Florida Atlantic, Southern Miss or UTSA.
