BIRMINGHAM – Trey Jemison tied his career-high with 13 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in UAB’s 77-55 victory over Troy on Sunday afternoon at Bartow Arena. The Blazers (4-0) are off to their best start since the 2008-09 season. That team also began the season 4-0.
Tavin Lovan scored a game-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Michael Ertel added 17 points, making 6-of-12 shots. Kassim Nicholson led all players with a career-high 11 rebounds. Quan Jackson scored 13 points and added three steals.
Troy’s Zay Williams scored a team-high for 17 for the Trojans (1-3).
The Blazers came out of the gates scoring the game’s first 11 points. The UAB defense forced 10 straight Troy misses from the field and a pair of turnovers before the Trojans got on the scoreboard at the 14:55 mark of the 1st half.
The Blazers would see a 17-point lead twice in the first half and would lead by double-figures from 4:39 mark to the end of the contest.
Ertel’s 3-pointer at 15:05 of the 2nd half sandwiched between Jackson’s dunk and layup put UAB up 53-31 and gave the Blazers their first 20-point lead of the contest. Less than two minutes later, Tyreek Scott-Grayson’s free throws made the score 57-32 and gave the Blazers their largest lead of the game at 25 points. Tobias Rotegaard’s 3-pointer with 53 seconds remaining also put UAB ahead by 25.
“I thought we really defended well,” said head coach Andy Kennedy. “With Troy’s recent travel schedule, we wanted to apply pressure and through it would be problematic. Defensively I thought we were outstanding.”
The Blazers held the Trojans to 30.5% shooting and held leading scorer Kam Woods (14.0 ppg) to just five points on 1-of-10 shooting. This was also the fourth consecutive game that the Blazers’ defense held the opponent under 40% from the field.
“I’m pleased with the 22-point win. I’m pleased we’ve gotten off 4-0 and we are looking forward to try and build on that Wednesday night.”
UAB will host Mobile (4-4) at Bartow on Dec. 9. Additionally, the Rams, who are an NAIA program, have also played three Division I games against South Alabama, Florida Atlantic and Jacksonville State, which do not count towards their regular season record. Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m.
GAME NOTES
- The two other UAB squads that began 4-0 were the teams in 2004-05 and 1983-84
- Nicholson’s previous career rebounding high was nine on Nov. 11, 2019 against Alabama A&M
- This is Jemison’s second straight double-double game – he had 13-and-14 against Kennesaw State on Dec. 2
- Four Blazers players were over a +20: Ertel (+28), Jackson (+26), Jemison (+24) and Nicholson (+22)
- Kennedy is 29-2 all-time against Sun Belt teams and is 6-0 against Troy
- UAB improves to 12-1 against Troy and was their second biggest margin of victory over the Trojans – UAB defeated Troy by 23 on Nov. 17, 2016, 74-51
MEN’S BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION
In compliance with CDC and state and local public health guidance, UAB adjusted the seating manifest to adhere to social distancing at Bartow Arena for the 2020-21 season. UAB reallocated season ticket holders who had completed their purchase of season tickets through October 19 and placed season ticket holders based on Blazer Boosters Priority Points and the price type of tickets purchased. As a reminder, original season ticket locations prior to the social distancing reallocation will be utilized for 2021-22 renewals or if capacity restrictions change during the 2020-21 season.
A limited number of 2020-21 season tickets remain in the upper level. Fans interested in season tickets can fill out the season ticket request form or contact the UAB Ticket Office at 205-975-8221.
