MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – UAB completed the season sweep over Middle Tennessee after a 79-66 victory Saturday afternoon at Monte Hale/Jimmy Earle Arena. This marks the Blazers’ fourth consecutive road victory.
Tavin Lovan led all scorers with 22 points and Will Butler set a career-high for the second straight game with 20 points. Makhtar Gueye added 14 points for UAB (16-11, 7-7 C-USA).
C.J. Jones and Donovan Sims scored 14 points apiece for MT (6-21, 2-12 C-USA).
A layup by Lovan at 17:44 of the first half gave the Blazers a lead for the next seven minutes. With UAB ahead 12-9, MT went on an 8-0 run to take a 17-12 lead at 10:28. The Blazers would regain the advantage after Benjamin threaded the needle finding Lovan on a fast break making the score 18-17 heading into the under-8 media timeout. This started a 12-2 run that put UAB up 28-19 forcing a Blue Raiders timeout. The Blazers got their largest lead of the half as the clock expired on Kassim Nicholson‘s steal and drunk that made the score 38-23.
A Brinson layup at 12:09 of the second half gave UAB their first 20-point lead of the game at 55-35. Twice, their lead would get as large as 22 points, the later by the midway point of the half at 63-41. The closest MT would get was 12 points with just over a minute remaining.
As a team, the Blazers tied its season-high by making 23 free throws. They converted 19 MT turnovers into 22 points and dominated the paint 48-26.
Next up, the Blazers begin the second portion of the conference schedule with C-USA Bonus Play. Dates and times will be announced by the league Sunday at noon.
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.
Group packages are also available for 20 or more and provide your friends or co-workers an opportunity to save money while taking advantage of special fan experiences to any home basketball game. To purchase group tickets or inquire about opportunities for the 2019-20 season, please contact Chris Curtis at (205) 934-3172 or ccurtis2@uab.edu.
