Toney’s Career-High 23 Points Leads UAB to 117-45 Victory Over Rust

BIRMINGHAM – Tony Toney came off the bench to score a career-high 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting to lead UAB (18-5) to a 117-45 landslide victory over Rust (7-10) on Monday evening at Bartow Arena. The 117 points scored and the 72-point margin of victory were both the second most in program history.

In addition to Toney, five Blazers scored in double figures. Quan Jackson had 13, Tyreek Scott-Grayson and Rongie Gordon each added 12, and Tavin Lovan and Michael Ertel scored 10 apiece. Kassim Nicholson pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.

Rust was led by Jordan Watkins with 11 points.

After falling behind early 10-4, UAB went on a 25-9 run to take a 29-15 lead at the midway point of the first half.  A pair of Scott-Grayson free throws with 9:41 remaining in the half started a 19-2 run, capped by a Toney 3-pointer that made the score 48-20 at the 6:24 mark.

UAB’s last run of the half began with a Jalen Benjamin jumper and ended with a Jackson layup. The 13-0 run gave the Blazers their largest lead of the half at 37 points. Nathan Stewart’s layup sent the game into halftime with UAB ahead 63-28.

Scott-Grayson’s layup ay 7:42 of the 2nd half gave the Blazers a 50-point lead at 88-38. A dunk by Toney at 4:05 put UAB over the 100-point and a 3-pointer by Tobias Rotegaard closed out the scoring with 36 remaining.

UAB’s inside game was dominant as it scored 80 points in the paint. They forced 27 Rust turnovers, resulting in 39 points. The Blazers had season-highs with 57 rebounds, 48 field goals and 14 steals.

“Tonight’s game gave us an opportunity to smile a little bit and get focused on the home stretch,” said head coach Andy Kennedy.

“Tony missed his first shot, then he followed by making six in a row, including a couple big threes. He was explosive at the rim. We are going to rely on him as we close down the regular season.”

Tony’s previous career-high was three points at Louisiana Tech.

Conference play resumes in San Antonio as UAB visits UTSA (12-9, 8-6 C-USA) on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. Both contests will be streamed on ESPN+.


GAME NOTES

  • Kennedy was on the UAB team that set a school record with 118 points against Alabama State on Dec. 20, 1989
  • The Blazers’ largest margin of victory was 73 points in a 116-43 win against Hiwassee on Dec. 22, 2015
  • The Blazers tied the school record with 63 1st half points (Bethune-Cookman Dec. 20, 1992)
  • Gordon’s 12 points was a career-high
  • Simeon Kirkland tied a career-high with six rebounds
  • Jon Coleman recorded his first career field goal
  • The last 100-point game for UAB was on March 3, 2018 when the Blazers scored 101 against WKU at Bartow

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.