Feb. 1, 2008

UAB-Marshall Game Notes | Gametracker | Listen Live

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team returns to Bartow Arena where it will square off against the Marshall Thundering Herd on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Blazers (14-6, 4-1 C-USA) will look to avenge their only loss in league play, as they fell at Marshall back on Jan. 19, 62-57.

UAB captured its sixth win in its last seven games and 12th victory over its last 15 contests with an 88-81 win at UCF last Wednesday at the UCF Arena. Junior forward Lawrence Kinnard tied a career high with 25 points while junior guard/forward Robert Vaden added 18 in the winning effort.
Vaden currently leads the Blazers in scoring, averaging 21.1 points a game which rank tied for second in Conference USA. He also leads the team in three-point shooting (91-of-205, 44.4 percent) and minutes played (34.5).
Kinnard is the team's second-leading scorer at 9.6 points a game, while he also leads the team in rebounding with 6.6 boards per contest. Junior guard Channing Toney, who had to sit during the first semester due to NCAA transfer rules, has played in four contests and averaged 9.5 points, while shooting 57.1 percent from three point range (8-of-14). Junior forward Reggie Huffman, who recorded his team-leading third double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 boards against Kentucky on Dec. 15, is second on the team in rebounding (6.3 rpg) and is fourth in scoring (8.1 ppg).
As a team, the Blazers are hitting 46.6 percent from the floor, which ranks second in Conference USA, and are connecting on league-leading 39.1 percent from beyond the arc. Additionally, UAB also ranks second in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense (29.6 percent) and scoring defense (61.6 ppg). The Blazers are outscoring its opponents by 9.8 points a game (72.3-62.5).
Head coach Mike Davis is in his second season at the helm of the UAB men's basketball program. Davis, who is in his eighth season as a head coach, boasts a career record of 144-101 (.588) and has made five postseason appearances, including the 2002 national championship game. He is now 29-22 (.567) at UAB.

Scouting Marshall
Marshall enters its game at UAB sporting an 11-8 overall record and a 3-3 record in Conference USA play. The Thundering Herd is coming off a hard fought 72-65 overtime victory over Tulsa last Wednesday night. Sophomore forward Tyler Wilkerson, who recorded 11 points and nine boards in the win over UAB on Jan. 19, led four double-figure scorers with 16 points on the night.
Junior guard/forward Markel Humphrey, who did not see action in the Herd's win over the Blazers, returned to the lineup against Tulsa after missing three games with an injury. Humphrey collected 12 points, four rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes of action in the victory. Humphrey is one of three Marshall players to average double-figure scoring, leading the team with 14.1 points a game and ranks second on the team with 5.5 rebounds per contest.
Senior guard Mark Dorris collects 13.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and a team-leading 1.7 steals per contest. Freshman forward Tirrell Baines adds 11.0 points and a team-best 6.4 rebounds a game, while point guard Darryl Merthie collected 9.2 points and a team-leading 2.8 assists per contest.
Marshall has outscored its opponents by an average of 3.1 ppg (67.8-64.7) through 19 contests this season. However, the Herd has lost five of its six road games entering Saturday's showdown at Bartow Arena. In the five road defeats, Marshall has been outscored by an average of 10.2 ppg. The Herd shoots 41.9 percent from the floor and 31.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Head coach Donnie Jones is in his first season at the helm of Marshall men's basketball program and is 11-8 (.579) on the season.

UAB-Marshall: The Series
UAB and Marshall are playing for the ninth time in series history, with each team winning four games. However, Marshall has captured wins over UAB in three of the last four contets played between the two teams. Saturday night's contest comes exactly two weeks from the last meeting between the two teams, when the Thundering Herd handed the Blazers their lone C-USA loss of the season, a 62-57 defeat in Huntington, W.Va. on Jan. 19. UAB has won two of the three games played between the two teams at Bartow Arena. The lone win for Marshall in Birmingham came in its first visit to Bartow Arena when it squeaked out a 68-66 win on Dec. 30, 2003.

UAB-Marshall: Earlier This Year
Robert Vaden scored 23 points, but it was not enough to help the cause, as UAB fell on the road, 62-57 to Marshall. UAB led by one at halftime, 27-26, and scored the first two points in the second half, before an 8-3 Marshall run would put them ahead for the remainder of the game. Trailing 46-37, UAB scored eight straight points to pull within one point of the Thundering Herd with five minutes remaining in the game. Marshall's Matt Walls would hit 3-pointers 1:15 apart to keep Marshall ahead and the Thundering Herd made 5-of-8 free throws in the final minute to earn the victory. Vaden, who scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half for UAB, was the game's leading scorer and played all but four minutes. Lawrence Kinnard had a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with six points. The loss brought to end the Blazerss four-game winning streak. UAB shot 33 percent from the field in the second half to Marshall's 50 percent and was outrebounded 42-31.

Last Time Out
Lawrence Kinnard and Robert Vaden combined for 43 points as UAB held off a fierce UCF comeback to defeat the Knights 88-81 last Wednesday night. UAB took its biggest lead, 63-39, on a pair of free throws by Channing Toney with 15:19 remaining. UCF hit three consecutive 3-pointers to trim the Blazers' advantage to 63-48. UAB extended the lead back to 20 points midway through the second half. But a 14-2 UCF run cut the Blazers' advantage to 79-72 with 1:40 to play. However, UAB hit 9-of-10 shots from the free throw line in the final 1:36 to preserve the victory, its sixth in the last seven games. Kinnard finished with 25 points, which tied his career high, and seven rebounds. Vaden scored 18 points and had five rebounds. Toney finished with 15 points for UAB and Frank Holmes added 11. Jermaine Taylor led four UCF players in double figures with 19 points. UAB led by as many as 16 points in the first half and took a 44-31 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

Lots Of Loe
Junior forward Lawrence Kinnard had been struggling with his shot entering last Wednesday's game at UCF. However, the Memphis, Tenn. native busted out of it in a big way. Kinnard torched the Knights for a career-high tying 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor, to go with seven boards in the 88-81 victory. It was the first time this season Kinnard reached the 20-point plateau and just his eighth double-digit scoring game this season. In fact, entering the UCF game, he had 24 points combined in his previous four games. Nevertheless, Kinnard is now averaging 11.1 points and 9.4 rebounds over his last seven contests entering the game against Marshall.

Pouring In The Points
When UAB posted 88 points in the 88-81 win at UCF last Wednesday, Blazers fans witnessed something that hasn't been done in quite a while. The 88 points on the road was not just the second-highest offensive output this season by UAB, but it was the most points in a road contest in the Mike Davis era. In fact, it was the most points scored by any UAB team in a road game since it posted an 88-85 overtime win at TCU on Feb. 18, 2003.

Free Throw Improvement
One of UAB's most noticeable statistics during conference play has been the improvement at the charity stripe. The Blazers have shot an impressive 78.5 percent from the line over the stretch of five conference games, winning four of the five contests. That number ranks second in C-USA in league games games only. Prior to league play, UAB was shooting only 63.7 percent from the foul line. However, since then the Blazers have improved to an average of 67.6 percent foul shooting as a team.

Tough At Home
This season, UAB has been a very tough team to play at Bartow Arena. When the Blazers face Marshall on Feb. 2, they will be sporting a perfect 9-0 record in home games this season. In fact, of the nine games played at Bartow Arena, UAB has only trailed in one game (Stetson) for a total of 7 minutes, 50 seconds throughout the entire home slate. Furthermore, the Blazers have beaten opponents on their home floor by an average of 21.6 points a game (76.7-55.1).

Earning A Toney
Junior guard Channing Toney has played impressively in his first four games in the Green and Gold. In Conference USA games, Toney is leading the league in three-point shooting (57.1 percent) and free throw shooting (8-of-8). Over his last two games, both UAB victories, Toney has contributed 12.5 points and 2.5 rebounds a game. Through his four games back, the Snellville, Ga. native is averaging 9.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 44.0 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from beyond the arc.

Vaden Red Hot
Junior guard/forward Robert Vaden recorded 20 points in the victory over East Carolina last Wednesday, which marked the 11th time this season he has recorded 20 or more points on the campaign. In fact, he has now led the Blazers in scoring in all but seven contests this season. The single-season school record for 20-plus point games is 17 set by two former Blazers, the last by Carlos Williams during the 1995-96 campaign. Furthermore, Vaden has reached or eclipsed the 20-point plateau in seven of UAB's last nine contests. During that time, the Indianapolis, Ind. native has averaged 25.0 points and has led the Blazers to a 7-2 mark.

Shooting Towards History
For the ninth time in 20 games, the UAB men's basketball team shot over 50 percent in a contest. When the Blazers shoot well, it is usually a good think, as UAB now sports a perfect 9-0 record when shooting 50 percent or better in a contest. Most recently, the Blazers scorched the nets for 58.5 percent shooting in an 88-81 victory at UCF (1/29). Along with the UCF game, UAB also shot 52.8 percent against Kentucky (12/15), a season-best 64.8 percent against Alabama A&M (12/4), 55.1 percent at Georgia State (11/10), 63.5 percent against Stetson (11/13), 50 percent in the win over Eastern Kentucky (11/21), 50.9 percent against Jacksonville (11/24), 57.1 percent in an overtime victory at UL-Lafayette (11/27) and 50 percent against Cincinnati (12/1). In fact, the Blazers are connecting on 46.6 percent from the floor, which ranks second in Conference USA, and a league-leading 39.1 percent from deep.

Boasting On Berrios
Junior guard Ed Berrios received his first start of the 2007-08 campaign and did not disappoint. The Bronx, N.Y. native collected five assists, four points and three rebounds in 24 minutes to help lift UAB to a 77-59 win over East Carolina. In fact, Berrios has played impressively since the start of Conference USA play. Over UAB's four league contests, Berrios is averaging 5.2 points, 4.4 assists and 1.8 rebounds a game.