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UAB Prevails as Pirates Go Cold at Crunch Time
From Associated Press Reports with Staff Contributions
Click Here for Box Score
BIRMINGHAM, AL — Gabriel Mikulas had a
productive season debut and East Carolina had a chance to spring an upset on
the road, but UAB held the Pirates without a field goal for the final 5:55
to claim a 63-54 Conference USA victory.
The Blazers (8-7, 1-1 C-USA), who clung to a 51-50 lead with just under six
minutes to play, went on a 12-4 run down the stretch, including six points
in six opportunities at the free throw line, to ice the outcome.
Eric Batchelor and Morris Finley fueled the Blazers' spurt in the final
minutes and wound up leading UAB in scoring with 14 and 13 points,
respectively,.
Mikulas, playing for the first time this season, notched 16 points and
grabbed 7 rebounds for the Pirates (6-8, 0-2). The sophomore center/forward
from Argentina had been held out of the team's first 13 games because of a
complex NCAA ruling relating to games he played for Argentine club and
national teams.
Point guard Travis Holcomb-Faye, with 10 points, was the only other ECU
player in double figures on a night during which the Pirates held UAB to
37.5 percent shooting but also sputtered offensively themselves.
Pirate coach Bill Herrion praised his team's ball-hawking efforts while
directly attributing the loss to the offensive deficiencies.
"I thought the kids played hard and played well enough to win on the
defensive end," he said. "I'm just very frustrated with the shooting.
Regardless of whatever league you're in, if you want to win basketball
games, you have to put the ball in the basket."
Forward Erroyl Bing, who had scored in double figures in 12 of 13 games and
came into the contest leading the Pirates in scoring at 16.4 per game,
hauled in seven rebounds but was held to eight points.
UAB coach Murray Bartow acknowledged there had been concern in the Blazer
camp about the return of Mikulas to to the ECU lineup. But when he tallied
up the pluses and minuses of his squad's performance, he was gratified about
the final result.
"We shot free throws well, which was good. We tried to get the ball inside
more and we were effective at times and we were not effective at times," he
said. "... It was a good win and we will take it. We defended well tonight.
"We thought it would be a tough game, with Mikulas coming back,
and it was. We needed this one."
Will Campbell and Myron Ransom added 10 points each as UAB placed four
players in double figures.
Cedric Davis, making his first start of the season, led the Blazers
through a key second-half span, making four baskets in a row during an 8-2
run to give the Blazers a 42-34 lead. Before Tuesday, he had made only four
field goals all season.
East Carolina's next game will be Saturday, January 12, when
in-state C-USA rival Charlotte pays a noon visit to Williams Arena. The
clash, scheduled to be televised on the ESPN Plus package, is the first
between the teams since the Pirates joined the conference.
UAB also returns to action on Saturday in a 2 p.m. league game at
Southern Miss.
Box Score
UAB 63, EAST CAROLINA 54
East Carolina (6-8)
Bing 3-8 2-5 8, Holcombe-Faye 4-13 1-1 10, Badiane 3-3 0-0 6, Brown 0-8
0-0 0, Hawkins 2-8 0-0 6, Duckett 0-0 0-0 0, Primus 0-5 0-0 0, Foxx 1-2 0-0
2, Boddie 0-1 0-0 0, Moore 3-7 0-0 6, Mikulas 4-8 8-10 16. Totals 20-63
11-16 54.
UAB (8-7)
Ransom 3-10 4-4 10, Davis 4-4 0-0 8, Campbell 3-10 4-5 10, Finley 5-12
2-2 13, Bush 2-6 0-0 5, Arnold 0-2 1-2 1, Batchelor 3-7 6-6 14, Roberson 1-5
0-0 2. Totals 21-56 17-19 63.
Halftime: East Carolina 29; UAB 28.
3-Point goals: East Carolina 3-24 (Bing 0-1, Holcomb-Faye 1-6, Brown 0-4,
Hawkins 2-5, Primus 0-4, Foxx 0-1, Boddie 0-1, Moore 0-2); UAB 4-14 (Ransom
0-1, Finley 1-4, Bush 1-3, Arnold 0-1, Batchelor 2-5).
Rebounds: East Carolina 38 (Bing, Mikulas 7); UAB 42 (Davis, Campbell 8).
Assists: East Carolina 13 (Bing 4); UAB 11 (Bush 7).
Total fouls: East Carolina 16, UAB 16.
Fouled out: Davis.
Attendance: 3,206.
Copyright 2002
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bonesville.net
contributed to
this report.
02/23/2007 10:59:29 AM
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