Big Game From Coleman keys blazers in rout of Alabama A&M
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - December 19, 2024
Christian Coleman scored a career-high 25 points in UAB’s 96-67 men’s basketball win over Alabama A&M on Wednesday night at Bartow Arena.
UAB head coach Andy Kennedy saw it coming.
“We felt like felt like we had an advantage with his athleticism,” Kennedy said. “They're big, but they're a little more lumbersome. So we're just trying to put him in space. I think seven big offensive rebounds is what really got him going. In the first half he had five offensive rebounds that led to at least eight, maybe 10 points for him.”
Coleman scored eight of UAB’s first 10 points and had 14 points at the midway point of the first half. Overall, he was 10-of-16 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. He added 11 rebounds, giving him his third double-double of the season, a steal and a blocked shot.
“I know it’s kind of frustrating (for the opposition),” the 6-foot-8, 205-pound Coleman said of his seven offensive rebounds. I could tell, once I got two or three of them, they kind of started hitting me a little bit. I could tell they had kind of got frustrated. The coach probably was hollering at them to box me out. I like it.”
Wednesday’s win, which keeps UAB’s lifetime record spotless against SWAC opponents, didn’t erase the sting of Arkansas State erasing a 27-point second half lead in a win over the Blazers on Sunday. But it was important for UAB (6-6) to play well during its next step.
“That's the key, just play well,” Kennedy said. “What are the two most overused words in sports? Culture and process, right? You hear it all the time. But they are appropriate as it relates to, you gotta be process driven. You can't be scoreboard driven. It's easy, and trust me I have, it's easy to reflect on the fallout from the last game. But we were up 27 points against a pretty good basketball team. So something was going right, and then it just 180'd. If it would have 120'd, you still might get a win limping to the finish line. But it just 180'd on us. What is that? Is that a fortitude? Is it a lack of confidence? Is it a ‘Oh no, here it comes again?’”
For UAB, it was simply following a blueprint for success.
“I felt the 1-3-1 was effective early,” Kennedy said. “We turned them over (12) times in that in the first half, end up with 18 turnovers. For us, our formula is fairly consistent. Points in the paint is a big, big deal for us. We've got to win points in the paint. And in our last outing, we were winning it in dominant fashion, in the first half, we got dominated in the second half. We got to win second chance points. We have to win points off turnovers, we got to win the free throw line. And then 50-50 balls, if you're not winning 50-50 balls in this team, on the year is minus in that area.”
On Wednesday, UAB won points in the paint (42-24), second chance points (28-19), points off turnovers (31-11) and scored 13 more points than the Bulldogs at the free throw line. UAB was 25-of-30 from the line and Alabama A&M (4-7) was 12-of-20. All that helped add up to a loppsided win.
Yaxel Lendeborg, who has been battling through a bruised foot, played a season-low 18 minutes. He finished with eight points, five rebounds, two assists and one turnover. Ja’Borri McGhee and Efrem “Butta” Johnson each had 15 points. Johnson was 4-of-5 on 3 pointers and McGhee added two assists and four steals. Tony Toney had 12 points, six rebounds, two assists, three steals and a blocked shot. Kennedy said his team also got solid minutes from freshman Makhi Myles, who didn’t score but had four rebounds and a blocked shot in 12 minutes.
UAB plays its non-conference finale against Alcorn State on Sunday with tip-off slated for 2 p.m.