UAB Squanders Big Lead To Drop AAC Opener To North Texas

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - December 31, 2024

For the second time this season a comfortable halftime lead dissolved into a hard-to-explain loss for the UAB men’s basketball team. This one cost the Blazers a chance to start American Athletic Conference on a positive note.

This time, UAB enjoyed a 17-point halftime lead, fell behind late in the second half, fought back to tie the game and then saw the Mean Green walk away with a 78-75 victory on a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer by Atin Wright.

In terms of pure numbers, it didn’t match the collapse against Arkansas State when the Blazers led by 25 points at halftime and lost by nine points, but this one hurt worse because it came in conference play.

“All you can do is talk about it, try to learn from it and try to make sure when you're in that position again that it doesn't happen,” UAB head coach Andy Kennedy said in his postgame interview on Blazer Sports Network from Learfield. “We were in a similar position, and we can't make that happen. It's very, very disheartening.”

The first 20 minutes were a thing of beauty for the Blazers, especially against a team that allowed 23 first half points per game during non-conference play. UAB shot 46.4 percent from the field, hit 7 of 11 3-pointers and was 15 of 16 from the free throw line. Alejandro Vasquez and Tyren Moore combined for 24 first half points and the Blazers had 11 second chance points. UAB (7-7) took a 48-31 lead into halftime.

Things changed quickly in the second half. North Texas (10-3) opened with an 11-2 run and kept the pressure on throughout. The Mean Green shot 52 percent from the field in the second half, scoring on 22 of 29 possessions, and was 17 of 18 from the free throw line. The Mean Green also stepped it up on the defensive end, forcing nine UAB turnovers and limiting the Blazers to 35.7 shooting from the field.

North Texas took its first second half lead with 3:57 left on a Johnathan Massie layup. Wright followed with two free throws to pad the advantage to 73-69. UAB trimmed the deficit to one point after three free throws by Efrem “Butta” Johnson with 2:28 remaining. Neither team scored again until Wright hit a pair of free throws with 41 seconds remaining. Twenty seconds later, Johnson hit a 3-pointer to tie the game. North Texas worked the ball around before Wright threw in the 3-pointer over Vasquez to win the game.

Vasquez led the Blazers with 15 points, Johnson added 13 points, Yaxel Lendeborg had 12 points, 11 rebounds and four assists and Moore had 11 points.

UAB returns home for their AAC home opener against Tulsa on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Bartow Arena.