UAB drops FAU behind Big Game From Ja’Borri McGhee
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - March 7, 2025
They didn’t come on the same floor but the UAB men’s basketball team got a pair of wins on Thursday night.
The one that UAB controlled came at Bartow Arena, where the Blazers received a career-high output from Ja’Borri McGhee in an 89-80 American Athletic Conference victory over FAU. The other victory came about 630 miles away with East Carolina knocking off Tulane, 83-74, on ECU’s home floor.
Mix the two results together and UAB (20-10 overall, 13-4 AAC) clinched the No. 3 seed in next week’s AAC Tournament at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. It also means that Sunday’s visit to Tulane, which is two games behind UAB heading into the season final on Sunday against the visiting Blazers, will have no bearing on determining the third seed.
On Senior Night, when the Blazers celebrated seven players who might have been playing Bartow Arena for the final time, the most important thing that came out of the win was the ability to avoid Memphis in the AAC Tournament until the championship. Now, there is still plenty of work ahead to get to the final game but it certainly comforting to be the opposite bracket from Memphis.
McGhee certainly played a big role in cementing that spot. The 6-foot-1 junior college transfer scored 27 points and was 10-of-16 from the field, 2-of-4 on 3-pointers and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. He also had three assists, a rebound and a steal. Perhaps his best stretch came when he scored seven of UAB’s nine points at the start of the second half.
“Actually, I don't know if you remember when me and FAU point guard got tangled up at the end of the (first) half,” McGhee said. “I didn't like what their point guard was saying to me. I also didn't like the fact like my teammates were not engaged in the fact that I was arguing with an opponent. I didn't feel like I had enough closure around me and that kind of made me mad. Coach (Andy Kennedy) called ‘Two Down’ right out of the half and that's a play for me. So I kind of knew like, yeah, it could start right here. I just got that first bucket in. I don't know, like the rest opened up and I was just able to knock them down.”
McGhee actually scored the final two UAB buckets of the first half but the Blazers still trailed, 42-38. McGee sandwiched a couple of layups around a Christian Coleman layup and UAB began the second half on a 6-0 run. After a FAU bucket, McGhee took a pass from Yaxel Lendeborg and nailed a 3-pointer.
“Immediately, I tried to design something to get Ja’Borri downhill,” said Kennedy, whose team has at least 20 wins in every season he’s been the program’s head coach. “He's a very powerful guard. He had a size advantage over the kid from FAU. He got down, he was able to finish a couple. He got his confidence, made a couple of threes for us. Next thing you know, we go from being down four to being up six, pretty quickly, and then we kind of kept it at that margin the rest of the way.”
Turnovers – on both ends of the floor – were also a big factor. UAB forced 15 turnovers, which led to 13 points off turnovers. The Blazers, on the other end, committed just three turnovers and FAU scored just three points points. That was enough to help the Blazers be on the right side of the gritty win.
UAB also won offensive rebounds (14-9) and second chance points (13-3). The Blazers also won the free throw column after making 19-of-23 while FAU hit just 9-of-17. Yaxel Lendeborg reached a double-double the first time in three games. He finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Alejandro Vasquez had 18 points and four rebounds.
Tony Toney, who was Kennedy’s first commitment as the UAB head coach, and Efrem ‘Butta’ Johnson didn’t shoot the ball well but both played a big role on the defensive end. Toney and Johnson each had three steals.
UAB plays Tulane on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Fogelman Arena. The teams met on Jan. 7 at Bartow Arena with UAB winning, 81-69.