Rewinding UAB basketball’s 81-60 home loss to McNeese State

Welcome to Bartow Arena, where the UAB basketball team is set to face Southland Conference foe McNeese State in a game that tips off a 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

The Blazers (4-2) are riding a four-game winning streak and currently rank 99th in the KenPom rankings.

After dropping its first two games of the season, against current undefeated teams Bradley and Clemson, UAB has reeled off wins against Maryland, two-tine reigning SWAC champion Alcorn State, Middle Tennessee State and reigning SoCon champion Furman.

FINAL: McNeese State 81, UAB 60

- Blazers with almost no effort in the final few minutes and McNeese State hands UAB its worst home loss under Andy Kennedy.

McNeese State 76, UAB 54 (3:53) | Under-4 timeout: The Blazers are getting steamrolled in the waning moments, allowing a 9-2 run and failing to score a field goal in 4:05. McNeese State’s Shahada Wells has 35 points on 12-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-6 on 3-pointers and 6-of-7 at the charity stripe.

- The Cowboys hit a 7-0 run out of the media timeout and UAB head coach Andy Kennedy is forced to call a timeout. UAB trails 65-48 with 6:15 left in the game.

McNeese State 58, UAB 48 (8:00) | Under-8 timeout: Blazers end the McNeese State run on a Daniel Ortiz free throw and Tony Toney runout layup. Blazers are 2-of-12 since the 13:59 mark of the half.

- McNeese State is on a 9-0 run, taking a 58-45 lead, and the Blazers are out of sorts on the floor.

McNeese State 49, UAB 43 (11:49) | Under-12 timeout: Cowboys maintain their lead in breaking a 3:38 scoring drought. The Blazers are currently 1-of-7 from the field since the 15:44 mark and have not scored in 2:47.

- McNeese State 47, UAB 41 (15:07) | Under-16 timeout: Daniel Ortiz hits back-to-back 3-pointers to pull UAB back within a single point but Shahada Wells scores five straight points to push the advantage back to two possessions.

- Efrem “Butta” Johnson gets the second half going on the first possession but McNeese State’s Shahada Wells scores eight straight points to give the Cowboys a 38-33 lead. Following another bucket from Johnson, McNeese State’s Antavion Collum splashes his own triple for a 41-35 lead over UAB.

HALFTIME: UAB 31, McNeese State 30

- McNeese State’s Shahada Wells grabs a layup in the final minute to trim the UAB halftime lead to one point.

- Christian Coleman hits a pair of free throws to give the lead back to UAB and Daniel Ortiz extends the advantage to 31-28 inside the final minute on his own set of free throws.

- Javian Davis is fouled following the media timeout and hits 1 of 2 to put the Blazers ahead 25-21 with a little more than three minutes left in the half. McNeese State’s Shahada Wells grabs a layup plus the harm and makes a pair of free throws on the next possession to give the Cowboys a 26-25 lead with a little more than two minutes remaining.

UAB 24, McNeese State 21 (2:36) | Under-4 timeout: Yaxel Lendeborg puts an end to a 3:18 scoring drought and Javian Davis adds a free throw to keep the Blazers ahead at the final media timeout.

- McNeese State ends a 5:49 field goal drought on a 3-pointer and hits a 6-0 run to pull within a single possession.

UAB 21, McNeese State 13 (8:23) | Under-8 timeout: Efrem “Butta” Johnson extends the UAB lead on a mid-range jumper and the Cowboys have not made a field goal in 4:46.

- McNeese State’s Shahada Wells hits a pair of free throws but Daniel Ortiz hits back-to-back shots to put the Blazers up 19-13 while the Cowboys continue to endure a three-minute field goal drought.

UAB 15, McNeese State 11 (11:59) | Under-12 timeout: Daniel Ortiz connects on his first 3-point attempt and the Blazers are currently on an 8-2 run. McNeese State is 1-of-7 from the field during the last 3:10 of game time.

- Yaxel Lendeborg and Eric Gaines score out of the time and UAB takes an 11-9 lead over the Cowboys.

McNeese State 9, UAB 7 (15:56) | Under-16 timeout: The Blazers are plus-3 on the boards but trail on McNeese State’s 3-point shooting. UAB possession out of the media timeout.

- UAB wins the top but trails 9-7 in the first three minutes with McNeese State draining all three 3-point attempts.

Pregame Notes

UAB lineup: G Eric Gaines, G Tony Toney, G Alejandro Vasquez, F Javian Davis, F Yaxel Lendeborg

McNeese State lineup: G Omar Cooper, G Shahada Wells, G Christian Shumate, F Antavion Collum, F Roberts Berze