Erik Williams
Staff Writer
Thanks to a combination of unforced turnovers and an inconsistent and rather listless offense, the UH men's basketball team dropped its final home game of the season, a 104-70 defeated by the UAB Blazers Saturday at Hofheinz Pavilion.
The loss, the Cougars' seventh consecutive, drops them to 9-17 overall, 2-12 in Conference USA play, while the Blazers improve to 16-10, 8-6 in C-USA.
Although the Cougars started off strong, they fell behind quickly due to a rash of turnovers. UAB added to the frustration by hitting several open shots and nailing four three-pointers. By the time UH called its first full timeout, UAB was leading 20-6 on the heels of a 20-2 run, bolstered by nine Cougar turnovers.
As the half progressed, the Cougars could get no closer than eight points as the Blazers continuously kept the heat on. UH's anger eventually boiled over as the Cougar bench picked up a technical foul late in the first half. And, as if things couldn't get worse, senior guard Shahman McBride, playing in his final home game, left with an injury which was later diagnosed as a pulled rib muscle. By halftime, with UAB leading 41-30, the Cougars had already committed 18 turnovers to the Blazers' nine. UAB had stolen the ball 11 times to only two for UH.
In the second half, things kept going under for the Cougars as UAB outscored UH 24-6 within the first eight minutes of the half to take a 29-point lead. However, there was a bright spot for the Cougars as UAB's leading scorer, guard Cedric Dixon, was ejected after picking up a flagrant foul on a wild elbow. UAB's bench also picked up a technical foul following the incident. Despite the golden opportunity presented, UH wasn't able to capitalize and only came within 22 points of the Blazers. UAB finished the second half shooting an extraordinary 81 percent (21 of 26) from the field while holding the Cougars to 36 percent (13-36).
For the Cougars, Treva Crosby led the team with 18 points. Kenny Younger had 14 points and eight rebounds, Chad Hendrick had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and senior Galen Robinson, who was honored alongside McBride before the game, finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.
For the Blazers, Dixon led all scorers with 31 points, going 7-for-10 on three-pointers. Center Antonio Jackson had 14 points, and forward Damon Cobb had 13 points. UH allowed UAB to score 63 second-half points, hit 34 field goals and collect 18 steals - all season highs for UH opponents. Also, Dixon's seven threes were a game high for a UH opponent.
"I really didn't want to go out like this," said Robinson after the game. "It seemed like after halftime we hit a brick wall. Before we knew it, we were down thirty. We just could not get back up and play. It was really frustrating."
UH head coach Alvin Brooks also shared Robinson's sentiment. "I feel terrible. I feel bad for the people who paid to watch this. We just didn't go out there and play well. But our players didn't go out there and quit. There was just no leadership, and we're not getting any right now."
The Cougars' final two games are at Memphis on Thursday and at UNC Charlotte on the Saturday before they travel to Cincinnati for the Phillips 66 Conference USA tournament on March 4-7.
Cougar basketball update
Saturday: Cougars 70, Blazers 104
Record: 9-17 overall, 2-12 C-USA
Thursday: At Memphis, 7 p.m.
Radio: KPRC (950 AM)