FRISCO, Texas – Michael Ertel led all scorers with a season-high 22 points as UAB closed out the game on a 19-2 run in its 73-60 victory over Rice in the quarterfinal round of the 2021 Conference USA Championship. With the win, UAB improves to 22-6.
The Blazers will play No. 1 East seed WKU Friday morning at 11 a.m. The game will air on CBS Sports Network.
Ertel was 8-for-17 from the field, including four 3-pointers. Tavin Lovan scored 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Tyreek Scott-Grayson had 12 points and seven rebounds. Kassim Nicholson had a game-high nine rebounds.
Max Fielder paced Rice (15-13) with 18 points. Quincy Olivari added 16 and Chris Mullins 10 for the Owls.
The 1st half was played close throughout with four ties and a pair of lead changes. A 3-pointer from Quan Jackson at 11:30 made the score 18-12 and gave the Blazers their largest lead of the half at six points. The Owls would tie the contest two more times before back-to-back baskets from Scott-Grayson with 4:34 remaining gave UAB the lead the rest of the half, as they took a 36-32 advantage into halftime.
By the 15:06 mark of the 2nd half, the Blazers widened their lead to nine points at 48-39. Rice would counter with a 9-0 run to tie the game with 12:06 to play. The Owls would go ahead by four points, 58-54 at 8:13 on Max Fielder’s jumper.
This is where the UAB defense buckled down. The Blazers only allowed two points the rest of the way, holding the Owls to 1-of-9 shooting and forcing a pair of turnovers.
“We were dominant down the stretch defensively,” said head coach Andy Kennedy. “We do what we always do – manufacture offensive opportunities. Mike Ertel, Tavin Lovan and Trey Jemison at the rim all gave us a tremendous push to finish the game for us.”
UAB was a +15 on the boards, outrebounding Rice 40-25. The Blazers held the Owls to a single offensive rebound and had 14 second chance points to Rice’s two. UAB outscored the Owls 34-18 in the paint.
The winner of the UAB/WKU game will advance to the championship game on March 13 at 5 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
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.
For more information on the UAB men’s basketball team, follow @UAB_MBB on Twitter and Instagram.
