BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — UAB christened its renovated Bartow Arena with a win Friday night in Birmingham, beating Nicholls 70-63 for the first victory of the season by the Blazers.
Jeremy Elyzee did his damage on the glass. He grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds, seven of them on the offensive end, and scored 10 points for his first double-double with UAB. Justyn Fernandez and Deuce Jones scored 14 apiece, and T.J. Caldwell came off the bench for 12.
Fernandez scored the first UAB basket in the remodeled building, a floater under two minutes in. The Blazers led by as many as 13 in the first half at 36-23 before Nicholls ran off seven straight points to make it 36-30 at the break.
The Colonels got within four more than once after halftime, the last time at 53-49 with about eight minutes left. A Caldwell dunk in transition and a 3-pointer by Antallah Sandlin-El pushed the margin back to 58-51, and UAB held on from there.
The Blazers shot only 38.2% from the floor but won the boards 50-38, made 22 of 28 free throws and held Nicholls to 31.9% shooting. AJ Dent led the Colonels with 14 points, and Doyel Cockrill III and Jared Taylor each scored 12.
A crowd of 3,419 saw the opener. Both teams now sit at 1-1, and the win steadied UAB after it dropped its first game of the season to McNeese.
Coach Andy Kennedy is trying to build on a 20-12 finish last season, when the Blazers were just 8-9 at home. Nicholls went 14-19 a year ago.
Next up for the Blazers is a Monday night home date with Florida A&M on Nov. 9, with tipoff at 6:30 p.m. Central.
Section: More Birmingham AL sports news
Filed under: Birmingham AL Sports News
