BOCA RATON, Fla. – Jalen Benjamin made a crucial steal with 2.4 seconds remaining in regulation and subsequently made a pair of foul shots in UAB’s 68-65 victory at Florida Atlantic on Saturday afternoon.
The Blazers (12-7, 3-3 C-USA) got 17 points from Tavin Lovan and 14 from both Kassim Nicholson and Will Butler.
FAU (12-7, 4-2) was led by Cornelius Taylor who scored a game-high 19 points.
After Butler opened the game’s scoring, FAU would hold the lead until a dunk by Nicholson tied the score and a steal and dunk from Jordan Brinson put UAB up 14-12 at 11:19 of the first half.
The Blazers scored the final six points of the half to take a 29-21 advantage heading into the intermission.
The Owls opened up the second half with a 14-6 run to tie the score at 35-35 at 14:37. The game would see seven more ties, the last coming when Taylor hit a 3-pointer with 4:35 left that made the score 57-57.
However, UAB would not surrender the lead as it remained a one possession game the rest of the way.
Jailyn Ingram’s foul shots got the Owls within one point at 66-65 with 5.5 seconds remaining. Benjamin forced the turnover and was fouled on the next possession. The freshman calmly made both free throws. Taylor’s desperation 3-pointer from half court did not fall at the buzzer as the Blazers got the key road victory.
“I really like how we competed today. To comeback from Thursday night’s setback and beat this team, who was one of the hottest in the conference, is just a great win for these guys,” said head coach Robert Ehsan.
“This win was a total team effort. We don’t win this game if Kassim didn’t play like he did. Antonio gave us great minutes off the bench and Jordan guarded really well.”
As a team, UAB shot 50 percent (28-of-56) from the field – Butler was 7-of-8. The Blazers scored 38 points in the paint held FAU to 34.5 percent shooting.
The Blazers return home to face Southern Miss on Jan. 23 followed by La. Tech on Jan. 25.
NOTE: Butler made his first start since Dec. 8, 2018 at Memphis.
Single game tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking here or by calling the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at 205-975-UAB1. Discounted group tickets and fan experiences are available for a minimum purchase of 20 tickets. To inquire about group tickets for the 2019-20 season, please contact Chris Curtis at (205) 934-3172 or ccurtis2@uab.edu.
Along with single game and group tickets which are already on sale, fans now have the option to purchase a four-game mini plan which offers the flexibility of attending any four Conference USA games at Bartow Arena for only $40 in the upper level. The C-USA Pick 4 Mini Plan can be purchased by clicking here or by calling the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at 205-975-UAB1
