UAB began American Conference play with a performance it won’t want to carry into the new year. The Blazers blew a 13-point lead at the half to suffer a 75-70 loss to Wichita State on Wednesday inside Bartow Arena.
“It was a collapse,” UAB head coach Andy Kennedy told Blazer Sports Network following the game. “I mean, it is what it is.”
UAB (9-5, 0-1) led by as many as 16 points in the first half before allowing WSU (9-5, 1-0) to cut the halftime deficit to 42-29 on a buzzer-beating jumper from Dre Kindell.
That shot foreshadowed a rough second half for the Blazers, as the Shockers scored the first 10 points after the break. Wichita State continued to scratch and claw from there before finally taking its first lead of the game with 3:29 to play.
UAB was unable to carry over its usual dominance down low into conference play. WSU won the rebounding battle 40-30, pulling in 15 offensive boards that helped lead to 16 second-chance points. UAB didn’t allow a second-chance point in either of its previous two wins against UNC-Asheville and Cleveland State.
“There are no excuses,” Kennedy said of his team’s poor performance on the boards. “There’s no, ‘Well, I this, that.’ No. They whipped you, so you don’t really have anything else to say.”
Along with outmuscling the Blazers, the Shockers were also able to hit from deep. Wichita State’s comeback was fueled by a 9 of 20 shooting performance from beyond the arc. Kenyon Giles led the way with 26 points while making 8 of 13 shots from range. The biggest of those 3s came with 27 seconds remaining to extend the Shockers’ lead to 73-69.
“We knew coming in he’s a dynamic shot-maker,” Kennedy said of Giles. “Again, it’s a reflection on me that, how can you give up nine 3s and eight of them by one player, including the biggest [3] of the game.”
After making 53.1% of its shots in the first half, UAB shot just 32% after the break. The Blazers continued their cold shooting from deep, hitting just 3 of 12 shots from beyond the arc on the afternoon. UAB entered the game ranked No. 343rd nationally, shooting 28.84% from 3.
“That has been a problem,” Kennedy said of his shooting. “And I’ll be honest, I’m going to keep working at it. But I don’t, for instance, think that all of a sudden we’re going to become this great shooting team. Our attention to detail, our lack of good habits, it’s mind-numbing to me.”
Daniel Rivera led UAB with 18 points on 7 of 9 shooting while pulling in five rebounds. The majority of that production came in the first half, as he recorded a trio of dunks in the game’s opening minutes to help the Blazers jump out to an early advantage. After scoring 12 points in the first half, Rivera got into foul trouble, limiting his production after the break.
Jacob Meyer returned to the floor after missing the past two games with an ankle injury. The DePaul transfer scored 15 points while pulling in five rebounds.
Evan Chatman rounded out UAB’s double-digit scorers with 15 points and four rebounds. Star guard Chance Westry was unable to capitalize on his recent momentum, finishing with 4 points on 2 of 10 shooting. While Westry finished with a team-high five assists, the 6-foot-6 guard was unable to record a rebound over 31 minutes, a stat Kennedy referred to as “mind-numbing.”
UAB will look to bounce back from the loss this weekend when it travels to South Florida for a noon tipoff. That game will be televised on ESPNU.
