UAB falls to mtsu 76-69 at Bartow Arena

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - December 2, 2024

The mood in the UAB men’s basketball locker room was what one would expect after the Blazers took yet another non-conference misstep on Sunday afternoon.

“Down,” UAB head coach Andy Kennedy said of his team’s response to a 76-69 loss to Middle Tennessee at Bartow Arena. “It should be down, should be embarrassed. I mean, I'm the coach here, but I also played here. I think that adds a little different perspective. This is beneath the standard. I've been telling them, and they talk and they have a player meeting. This is not good enough, not good enough.”

Sunday’s problems were certainly nothing new. First-half foul trouble by Yaxel Lendeborg helped shape the first 20 minutes of the game. The Blazers failed to shoot well from outside the 3-point arc, making just 4 of 22 3-pointers. Defensively, the Blazers allowed too many open 3-point looks and had trouble keeping the Blue Raiders from getting to the basket. Timely mistakes, including back-to-back turnovers by Alejandro Vasquez and Lendeborg, stemmed a comeback effort late in the game. And when it came down to a chance to get a critical stop in the final minute, Middle Tennessee (6-2) found a way to hit a basket.

All of that can be wrapped up in one area of concern, especially when it’s happening so often.

“We don’t play with enough edge, not enough sense of urgency,” Kennedy said after his team fell to 4-5. “I have a hard time understanding it. Some of it is just immaturity and a defense mechanism. I mean I get it. Sometimes you put out this air like you don’t care because you just don’t know how to react to adversity.”

The adversity began when Middle Tennessee hit three 3-pointers in the first four minutes, building an early 11-4 advantage, and ultimately stretched the lead to as many as 15 points. The Blue Raiders led, 38-28, at halftime. Part of the problem was Lendeborg playing just 11 first half minutes because of foul trouble, which has been a recurring problem for UAB’s best player.

“People are going at him, I think maybe a little more so than they did last year,” Kennedy said. “He's a focal point for the other team's defense because they want him out of the game. Yax has just got to be smarter in understanding that and not put himself in harm’s way. We hop around, we seem indecisive, which is maddening to a coach. And we're just really indecisive with the ball, without the ball. His third foul, I put him back in, usually I would not, but we're just desperately trying to hang in there in the first half. He just lost his discipline. He hopped on a shot fake and then off a drive, body on body. That guy was searching (for contact). (Lendeborg) wasn't vertical and picks up his third. And then I can't start him in the second half. I thought he was good for us down the stretch. But we need all these guys, man.”

Middle Tennessee’s largest lead came at the 11:41 mark when Jestin Porter’s 3-pointer gave his team a 58-42 advantage. UAB started chipping away at the lead and eventually used a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 66-61 with 3:54 remaining. UAB got a stop and had an opportunity to slice into the deficit some more but Vasquez lost the ball while driving to the basket and it turned into a transition basket for Middle Tennessee. Lendeborg’s entry pass was stolen on the next possession, leading to a pair of Middle Tennessee free throws.

UAB had one final chance, though, as Ja’Borri McGhee began a 6-0 spurt with a 3-pointer. Lendeborg scored the next three points to cut the deficit to 72-69 with 49.2 seconds left. UAB played good defense on the next possession, forcing Middle Tennessee to call at timeout with 22.4 seconds left and just four seconds remaining on the shot clock. The inbounds pass nearly got away, deflecting off a Middle Tennessee player’s hand, but it rolled to Essam Mostafa about 10 feet away from the basket. Mostafa grabbed the ball, quickly threw it toward the basket and banked it in to give the Blue Raiders a two-possession advantage.

Lendeborg and McGhee shared team-high scoring honors with 16 points apiece. Lendeborg added 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.