UAB 75 – UTEP 60: Blazers Sweep Miners for 5th Straight Road Loss

The Miners needed a split against a quality team but fell short of the feat, as UAB dominated the slumping road team on Saturday (75-60) to sweep the series.

Though the game was in the balance at the 14:07 mark where UAB led 44-43, the Blazers broke away on a 16-6 run and never looked back, winning this game by 15. UAB has won seven straight home games (13-1 home record) while the Miners have now dropped five consecutive road contests.

The Miners' offensive start was much better than their poor effort on Friday. They bettered their 15% 3-point shooting night on Friday by hitting 7-of-12 in the first half, including a perfect 3-of-3 first half performance from 3-point range by Kristian Sjolund.

Kennedy and Boum each totaled 10 points in the first half, as the Miners shot 43% (13-of-30) from the field. UTEP went to the locker room with a two-point lead (34-32).

UAB started the second half by first retaking the lead on a 8-1 run. Their 40-35 lead was their first lead since the first five minutes of the game. The Miners totaled four turnovers in the first five minutes of the second half.

Sjolund came off the bench and knocked down two more 3-pointers but was yanked out of the game at the 14:07 mark. He finished the contest with a career-high 15 points on 5-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc.

UAB broke away from the Miners on a 9-0 run (53-45) around the 10-minute point. They never looked back, despite the Miners trying to put together a few late comebacks.

Souley Boum led UTEP in scoring with 18 points on 5-of-15 shooting, including five turnovers and four assists. Bryson Williams (13 points, 3-for-12) and Keonte Kennedy (11 points, 3-of-12) joined Sjolund (15) in scoring double figures on Saturday. Jamal Bieniemy had four points and fouled out of this game, with a technical foul at the 4:18 point.

Up next: UTEP (8-10, 4-8 C-USA) will look to rebound at home against Florida International (9-12, 2-10 C-USA). The Panthers have struggled mightily recently, having been recently swept against UTSA. They have a 2-5 overall road record this year. Tipoff for next Friday and Saturday games will be set for 7 p.m. at the Haskins Center.