UAB Beats WKU and Shows Kennedy What Blazers Are Made of
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - October 28, 2024
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Andy Kennedy got exactly what he wanted during his UAB’s basketball team’s 88-79 victory over Western Kentucky in a charity exhibition game at E.A. Diddle Arena on Sunday afternoon.
And it wasn’t just because it was a favorable outcome for the Blazers.
“This was perfect for us because we were able to play a lot of guys,” Kennedy said after his team built a 19-point lead in the second half and held on down the stretch with Yaxel Lendeborg resting on the bench at the end of the game. “We left unscathed. I was able to close the game without Yax, which is important, because there's going to be times when we have to do that. I thought we played hard in the first half. I thought we were better defensively early (in the game) then late (in the half), but our offensive execution was failing. We weren't finishing through contact. We were 9 for 19 from the free throw line. We were missing open shots.”
The Blazers took a 38-34 lead into halftime but shot poorly from the field and at the line in the first half.
“I challenged them to try to get more locked into our execution in the second half,” Kennedy said. “I was much more pleased offensively, we scored 50 points. We shot (57.1 percent) from the field, made threes, made free throws. I thought we settled in as the game went on. The game got kind of nutty at the end, playing some different guys. I just wanted to see how they would respond. So overall, this is exactly what we needed it to be.”
Tyren Moore came off the bench to make a big impact on the offensive end in the second half. The senior transfer from Georgia Southern scored just two points in the first half. In the second half, though, Moore was 4 of 6 from the field, including 3 of 5 on 3-pointers, to finish with 13 points. Much of that production came during a 22-7 run when UAB turned a 54-50 lead into a 76-57 advantage. During that time, Moore had all three of his 3-pointers, including a transition 3-pointer that gave the Blazers a 63-50 lead.
“That's what he is, that's what he does,” Kennedy said of Moore’s shooting ability. “I thought his 3 in transition was exactly the right play. I think a lot of times we're still maybe overthinking. Should I shoot? Should I pass? I don't think we're making great decisions, but I thought that decision was fantastic. Then we did a great job with our spacing and our ball movement to get (Butta) a 3 in this corner. You've been around me long enough to know, I then tried to design something to get Tyren right back to that same spot. And we did, and he knocked it down. So that was the spurt that took it from 6, 7, 8 points to 19.”
Johnson led the Blazers with 16 points, including a pair of 3-pointers and 6-of-7 shooting from the free throw line. He was the only Blazers who had an efficient first half on the offensive end.
“I think it was just finishing through contact, just playing tougher, just playing harder,” Johnson said of the difference in the first and second half. “I think second half we came out, we did that. And in the second half we did have better shots than in the first half, (including) some shots we might have forced up. Once we got settled in, we just broke the lead open, went up about 20 points and pretty much knew we were gonna win from there on out.”
Lendeborg, who has been battling a sprained ankle, didn’t have an efficient game on the offensive end – hitting just 4 of 15 from the field – but still made an impact. He finished with 12 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots a steal and three turnovers. Bradley Ezewiro came off the bench to provide a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds in 21 minutes. Greg Gordon had good numbers – eight points, four rebounds, four steals, two assists, one blocked shots – but also made many more plays than won’t show up in a box score.
“(Ezewiro) just has to get motors to keep running,” Kennedy said. “He's got to get in great shape. He'll start moving faster once you get some better understanding, but I thought he had some really solid muscle plays for us at that basket. He gives us a physical presence that we definitely need. Greg Gordon, I think he's just an energetic dude, man. He's active. He's really good in the open floor. Those guys bring a dimension to our team that we certainly need.”
Christian Coleman (10 points, four rebounds) and Alejandro Vasquez (12 points) also finished in double figures for the Blazers.
UAB now has a week to prepare for the Nov. 4 regular season opener at Bartow Arena against a Vermont team that has played in three consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
“This is the first time we've only played 40 minutes, so, you know the realities of guys saying okay, I've got to be productive to get minutes was good,” Kennedy said. Playing on the road, simulating a road game, we treated this just like we would our first road game of the year. We will learn from this, we’ll grow from it. Then we'll immediately turn our attention to a really good Vermont team. My hope is that we can have a robust Bartow Arena Monday the 4th and open this season on a good note.”