Close but no cigar; late rally by UAB denies men’s basketball of first C-USA win

[Skipper]

The Mean Green men’s basketball team was hoping the third time was the charm in conference play.

And it would’ve been, if it wasn’t for those meddling Blazers.

On the back of a 12-2 University of Alabama at Birmingham (8-7, 1-1) run to close the game, the Blazers clawed back and got the win over North Texas (6-9, 0-3) Thursday night. UAB was led in scoring by junior forward William Lee, who hit several big shots down the stretch, including the game-winner with under six seconds to play.

“We had some good looks from the field,” head coach Benford said. “They hit some big shots.

With 5.9 ticks left on the clock, Lee drove the lane and absorbed the contact from sophomore guard Allante Holston.

Much to the chagrin of North Texas fans, the shot rolled around and found the bottom of the net, and Lee went to the line to covert the and-one. With no timeouts, senior guard J-Mychal Reese took the ensuing inbounds pass and ran the length of the court before finding freshman Ryan Woolridge for a 16-footer that would have sent the game to over time.

But Woolridge’s shot refused to fall, and the Mean Green somberly trotted to the locker room.

“It was a good shot,” Woolridge said. “It’s just one of those ones that could have went in or went out.”

For Benford, it was deja vu all over again.

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