Blazers Pound USM Behind Big Games From Coleman And Lendeborg
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - November 8, 2024
Andy Kennedy felt his UAB basketball team needed a spark heading into Thursday’s non-conference game against Southern Miss. All it took was a couple of moves by the UAB head coach to provide that spark.
First, he challenged Christian Coleman to bring more energy and then he inserted Tony Toney into the starting lineup. It didn’t take very long to figure out that things were different than during Monday night’s season-opening loss to Vermont. This time, the Blazers scored the game’s first 24 points, led by 30 just past the midway point of the first half and cruised to a 98-84 victory over the Golden Eagles at Bartow Arena.
“We were having a lot of fun,” Coleman said of the dominating start. “It's always fun to win, so we was having a lot of fun. And we kind of went up, because we were disruptive, we were in the passing lanes. Yax (Lendeborg) was, Tony was, me, Ja’Borri (McGhee), Butta (Johnson). We all were reading plays and getting out in the open floor and trying to score as many points as possible. I feel like we got to be a run-and-gun team. I feel like we all need to get the ball and go and do what we got to do.”
On Thursday, that began with Coleman, who scored 11 of the team’s first 24 points with most of it coming on fastbreak dunks.
“Coming in, I really challenged Chris Coleman,” Kennedy said. “We challenged him, because I think he really is our energy guy. Yax is Yax and he's gonna get a lot of the headlines, and he puts up numbers. And he's gonna be the focal point of the other team's defense. We've got other guys that certainly add value in different roles. But Chris, to me, is the energy guy. He sets the tone and I thought that's what he did tonight. As a result, we jump out to the huge lead.”
Toney, who has been with the program longer than anyone on the team, also played a huge role in that. The 6-foot-2 fifth-year senior played very little in Monday’s opener, partly because he got in early foul trouble. Kennedy inserted him in the starting lineup on Thursday to provide a spark.
“I said, man, we've got a real issue as it relates to athleticism on the perimeter, as it relates to guarding the basketball,” Kennedy said. “Tony Toney is the remedy to that. That’s why he was inserted and I thought he responded in a big way.”
After things kind of settled down following the 24-0 start, Tyren Moore came on to provide a spark with his shooting. Moore hit four 3-pointers in a span of just over two minutes with the last one giving UAB a 42-12 lead.
“That's why he's here, to make shots,” Kennedy said. “He's a guy that, again, he looks like he would be picked about fourth in a YMCA game if he came out there with his shirt off. But he has the ability to make shots. Sometimes, I was like this too, if I was mad at Coach Bartow, I would say, okay, I'm gonna show you and every time I touch it, I would shoot it. Ty was probably not real happy with me because he didn't play what he thought (he should) last game. I wanted him to do what he did. Come on, shoot the ball. Shoot it every time you touch it.”
UAB was in control the rest of the way, even though Southern Miss spent the remainder of the game cutting into the lead. The Golden Eagles got to as close as 12 points late in the game but UAB’s balance helped the Blazers hold off the charge. Lendeborg tied Coleman for team-high honors with 21 points. Lendeborg added five rebounds, six assists and four steals while Coleman added nine rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots. Moore finished with 18 points and Toney and McGhee each had 10 points.
UAB finished with 23 assists and 10 turnovers and forced Southern Miss into 22 turnovers. Fifteen of the Southern Miss turnovers came in the first half.