BIRMINGHAM – Quan Jackson scored a career-high 28 points and Michael Ertel added 15, but Old Dominion was able to hold off a late Blazers run in its 65-58 victory on Saturday evening.
Xavier Green led Old Dominion (12-6, 8-4 C-USA) with 16 points. Malik Curry added 11 and Kalu Ezikpe had a game-high 10 rebounds.
Through 10 minutes of the 1st half, the game had three ties and four lead changes. With ODU ahead 19-18 at the 7:04 mark, Rongie Gordon’s putback followed by Kassim Nicholson’s jumper gave the Blazers a one-point lead with 6:17 remaining. However, the Monarchs would score the next 10 points before Ertel closed out the 1st half scoring with five consecutive points. ODU took a 29-25 lead into halftime.
Still down by five points at 15:34 in the 2nd half, back-to-back jumpers form Jackson sparked an 8-0 run and put UAB ahead 41-38. A.J. Oliver answered with consecutive 3-pointers followed by a layup from Jaylin Hunter that put the Monarchs back on top 46-41 at 9:14.
Their lead would get as high as nine points at 62-53 inside of the final minute. A jumper from Ertel and a 3-pointer off a turnover from Jackson made it a two-possession game at 62-58 with 34 seconds remaining. Hunter made two free throws on the next possession to put ODU up 64-58 at the 30 second mark. UAB’s next trip up the floor was empty and Curry closed out the scoring with a foul shot with 23 seconds left.
“Last night we made the plays and we won. Tonight, give Old Dominion credit. They’re the one who stepped up and made huge shots and came up with huge second chance opportunities on the offensive glass,” said head coach Andy Kennedy. “Quan single-handedly kept us in the game. He had a great second half.”
Jackson scored 23 of his points in the 2nd half, making 8-of-14 shots including UAB’s first 12 points of the 2nd half.
The final home game of the season will be Feb. 22 when UAB hosts Rust College. Tipoff time of 6 p.m.
The game will be streamed through CUSA.TV. This is a subscription-based service that offers a variety of packages. Click here to register a new account.
GAME NOTES
- Jackson’s previous career-high was 26 points against UT-Arlington on Feb. 22, 2020
- Jackson also set a new career-high with eight free throws made
- The Blazers had a season-high 15 turnovers
- This was the 21st game in the series that was decided by 10 points of less
MEN’S BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION
Men’s basketball season tickets for the 2021-22 season are on sale now. Current basketball season ticket holders can click here to renew their original 2020-21 seat locations prior to social distancing adjustments. Click here to purchase new 2021-22 season which start as low as $100 with the Blaze’s Corner season ticket.
Fans interested in season tickets can fill out the season ticket request form or contact the UAB Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1 to receive additional information.
As a reminder, due to current social distancing guidelines, men’s basketball single game tickets and walk up sales are not be available to the public for the remainder of the 2020-21 season.
For more information on the UAB men’s basketball team, follow @UAB_MBB on Twitter and Instagram.
