BIRMINGHAM, AL --UAB shot a blistering .703 (26-37) from the floor to defeat the Monarchs, 81-68 in a nationally televised Conference-USA contest at the Bartow Arena. Junior guard Aaron Bacote (Hampton, VA.) led ODU with 23 points, followed by junior guard Trey Freeman 9Virginia Beach, VA.) with 18. ODU falls to 15-4 overall and 4-3 in C-USA while UAB is 10-10 overall and 6-1 in C-USA.
"UAB is a team that is playing very well together right now," Said Jeff Jones. " They played extremely well today. There is now way we can play as soft as we did in the first half. UAB made a lot of shots and we made it easy for them to make a lot of shots. Trey Freeman and Aaron bacote didn't play perfect tonight, but they're trying everything they can. They need some help from their friends. It's not about scoring - scoring would be nice, but we need contributions from other guys."
The Blazers had five players in double figures today and all 10 players scored atleast two points. Tosin Mehinti, Nick Norton, and Robert Brown scored 12 points each, while Chris Cokley and C.J. Washington added 10 each for UAB.
ODU finished the game shooting .444 (24-54) from the field but were outrebounded, 26-18. UAB also hit 24-26 free throws for .92.3.
Trailing by as many as 11, 54-43 with 12:04 left , the Monarchs cut the lead to six at 54-48 with 9:45 left on a Kennan Palmore (Stone Mountain, GA.) basket. UAB pushed the lead back to 11 at 65-54 with 5:14 remaining, and again the Monarchs cut the score to six, at 67-61 on a three-pointer by Trey Freeman, but CJ Washington knocked down two free throws and Tosin Mehinti scored to push the lead back to 10 and the Monarchs would get no closer.
Trey Freeman led ODU with three assists, while Denzell Taylor had two steals and two assists on the day. Bacote was eight-for-eight from the free throw line and seven-for-15 from the floor. Overall, ODU was 16-for-20 from the free throw line.
Mehinti led the Blazers with seven rebounds, followed by William Lee with six and Tyler Madison had five assists. The .703 shooting percentage by UAB was not an ODU opponent record. That mark of .754 was by North Carolina (43-57) on Dec. 1, 1992.
The Monarchs return home for two C-USA games beginning next Thursday when they host Florida International at 7 p.m. and then Florida Atlantic on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Ted Constant Convocation Center.