ROCK HILL, S.C. — The UAB men’s basketball team began its 2026-27 season Monday night on a neutral floor in Rock Hill, and McNeese spoiled the start with a 99-78 win over the Blazers.
Larry Johnson did most of the damage for the Cowboys. He scored 31 points, 20 of them before halftime, and grabbed five rebounds. Jaylon Dean-Vines added 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, and Elijah Moore knocked down five 3-pointers on his way to 15.
UAB actually came out fast. Two early 3-pointers from Justyn Fernandez helped the Blazers build an 11-4 cushion by the first media timeout. Then the game turned. McNeese ripped off 12 straight points to go ahead 18-15 with 9:12 left in the first half and never trailed again, eventually stretching that burst to 26-3 over almost nine minutes while UAB went more than five minutes without scoring.
The Blazers cut a 17-point deficit to nine, 44-35, by the break. The second half belonged to McNeese, which hit nine of its first 12 shots after intermission and built a lead as large as 28 points with 3:22 to play. For the game, the Cowboys made 12 shots from beyond the arc and shot 55.1% overall.
Elijah Duval led UAB with 15 points and five assists. Deuce Jones scored 12 and Fernandez finished with 11 as five Blazers reached double figures. UAB hit 26 of 30 free throws, its most makes at the line since early January, but gave the ball away 14 times.
The loss leaves Andy Kennedy at 4-3 in season openers at UAB, and McNeese is now 2-0 against the Blazers all-time.
UAB returns to Birmingham for its home opener Friday night against Nicholls at Bartow Arena, with tipoff set for 6:30 p.m.
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Filed under: Birmingham AL Sports News
