‘Complete Game’ From Lendeborg Leads Blazers Past Tulsa

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - January 26, 2025

How good was UAB standout Yaxel Lendeborg in a 78-68 American Athletic Conference victory at Tulsa on Wednesday night?

We’ll defer to UAB head coach Andy Kennedy for the answer.

“Maybe the most complete game that he has played in a UAB uniform and that's saying something,” said Kennedy in his postgame appearance on the Blazer Sports Network from Learfield.

Lendeborg put together what Kennedy called a “monster (stat) line.” It begins with a career-best 28 points and 13 rebounds to complete his 13th double-double of the year. Six of his rebounds came on the offensive end and he added six assists, four blocked shots, two steals and no turnovers in 34 minutes. He was 10-of-16 overall from the field, 2-of-4 on 3-pointers and 6-of-7 from the free throw line.

“We needed every bit of it, too,” Kennedy said. “We had a couple other guys that no-showed us, so we really needed Yax and man he delivered in a big, big way.”

UAB (13-8 overall, 6-2 AAC) was coming off a disappointing Sunday afternoon in Memphis. At times, the Blazers looked like they were bouncing back well. They built a lead as large as 11 points in the first half and trailed for just 39 seconds in the game. But, they also had trouble pulling away from a Tulsa team that lost to UAB, 83-51, on Jan. 4 at Bartow Arena.  

The Blazers led 36-32 at halftime and had trouble stopping Tulsa early in the second half. Tulsa (9-12 overall, 3-5 AAC) took its first lead on a dunk by Isaiah Barnes with 17:28 left and still had a two-point advantage  - at 40-38 - after the teams traded buckets. UAB took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Tyren Moore with 16:20 remaining but holding onto the lead wasn’t easy. Each time UAB surged ahead, the Golden Hurricane found a way to claw back, partly because Keaston Willis connected on four 3-pointers in the second half.

It took the all-around play by Lendeborg and some clutch baskets by Ja’Borri McGhee to hold on down the stretch. McGhee hit a 3-pointer with 2:47 remaining to give UAB a 69-62 lead and followed with a layup after Lendeborg’s assist on the following possession. Tony Toney also had a key 3-pointer, once again after a Lendeborg assist, with just over a minute left and the Blazers pulled away at the free throw line.

Bradley Ezewiro played a big role on a night when UAB got very little from Christian Coleman (2 points, 4 rebounds). Ezewiro, who was coming off a solid outing at Memphis, had eight points, eight rebounds, three steals, two blocked shots and an assist in 28 minutes. He also helped shut down Tulsa post players Ian Smikle and Jared Garcia, who combined for just 10 points and were 2-of-7 from the field.

UAB uncharacteristically trailed in total rebounds (42-40), offensive rebounds (14-12) and fastbreak points (14-10). But the Blazers led in second chance points (19-10) and had 16 assists with just six turnovers. UAB didn’t have a player with more than one turnover.

“You know all games are hard games,” Kennedy said. “You've got to take them one at a time. It's progress, believe it or not, for the coach, when you don't play your best and you can still find a way to beat a quality team on the road.”

UAB now hustles back from Tulsa to get ready for an important two-game homestand. The Blazers play host to Charlotte on Saturday at 1 p.m. and face North Texas on Monday night.