Lendeborg, COLEMAN lead comebackto close out santa clara in nit

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - March 24, 2025

UAB’s most significant comeback of the basketball season began moments after a timeout following a listless opening four minutes of the second half in an 88-84 NIT second round victory  at Santa Clara on Sunday night. But, despite his team trailing by 17 points at the time, it wasn’t an overly emotional approach to the timeout by UAB head coach Andy Kennedy.

“I wasn't losing my mind because when you get to postseason play, it's just about want to,” Kennedy said on his postgame visit with David Crane on the Blazer Sports Network from Learfield. “We weren't playing good enough. We weren't playing good enough offensively. We weren't playing good enough defensively. We weren't playing with enough force. Everybody's looking around like the world's ending and I said, ‘Guys, just play better. Play better. This isn't a hard equation. Play better. Let's see what happens.’”

What happened was an inspired 16 minutes of basketball that extended the Blazers’ season for at least one more game. UAB will play at No. 1 seed UC Irvine on Wednesday night at the Bren Event Center in Irvine. The Anteaters advanced with a 66-61 victory over Jacksonville State on Sunday night.

The Blazers pulled that off by outscoring Santa Clara, 46-25, over the final 15:58. Before that started, however, Yaxel Lendeborg and Christian Coleman got an assist while in the huddle.

“To Chris and Yax’s, you know, our two senior leaders, credit, they were in the huddle talking like a coach, which makes you feel good as a coach,” Kennedy said. “At least you know they're listening. They were saying, ‘Hey, let's cut this thing down. You know, at the next media (timeout), let's get it down to 10 or 12. And then let's just chip away, chip away and have an opportunity at the end.’ And that's what happened.”

It began with a 10-0 run that included a pair of 3-pointers by Efrem ‘Butta’ Johnson, including one with 14:22 left to cap the run and cut the deficit to 59-52. UAB then settled in and battled it way through the rest of the game. Lendeborg and Coleman were at the forefront of a second half surge that saw UAB outscore Santa Clara, 51-40. Coleman had 15 of his 21 points after halftime and Lendeborg’s second half numbers included 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and 6-for-6 from the free throw line.

UAB (24-12) finally tied the score at 73-73 on a 3-pointer by Ja’Borri McGhee (12 points, four rebounds, seven assists, no turnovers) with 7:45 left. Twenty-one seconds later, Coleman hit a pair of free throws to give UAB its first lead since the 18:31 mark of the first half. Santa Clara (22-12) answered quickly by sandwiching two buckets around a Lendeborg layup on a fastbreak. But UAB took the lead for good on a pair of Lendeborg free throws with 4:50 left in the game.

Despite never relinquishing the lead, it was still a stressful final 4:50 for the Blazers. The largest lead was four points and UAB didn’t have a field goal in the final 3:36. But the Blazers clamped down on the defensive end and made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 1:28, with four coming from Lendeborg, to hold on for the win.

A big key for UAB came from outside the 3-point line. The Blazers had a season-high 11 3-pointers on 24 attempts overall and hit 6-of-12 in the second half. McGhee and Alejandro Vasquez each hit three 3-pointers and Johnson and Tyren Moore had two apiece. Santa Clara, which is one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country, came in averaging 11 3-pointers per game. On Sunday, the Broncos were 9-for-25 on 3-pointers overall and were 4-for-11 after halftime. That was important on a night when the Blazers surprisingly were outscored, 48-28, in the paint and outrebounded, 45-34.

Turnovers were a factor in the game. UAB committed just four turnovers with only one of them coming after halftime. The Blazers didn’t have a turnover during the final 16 minutes. Santa Clara turned the ball over 11 times with UAB winning points off turnovers, 18-6.

Lendeborg nearly pulled off the elusive triple-double he’s chased throughout the season. He finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks, three steals and no turnovers in 37 minutes. He did have his national leading 25th double-double and became the first UAB player in history to eclipse 400 rebounds in a season. Coleman had 21 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals in 31 minutes.

UAB is leaving on Monday morning to travel from Santa Clara to Irvine. If the Blazers win on Wednesday, they will advance to the NIT Final Four on April 1 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.