Nebraska falls to UAB, 97-84
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Chad Frazier scored 32 points and UAB bounced back from a double-overtime defeat to No. 19 New Mexico with an 87-74 victory over Nebraska at the Charleston Classic on Friday.
Frazier reached the 30-point level for a second straight game, notching a career-high 34 in the 97-94 loss to the Lobos. UAB (4-1) will face either Georgia or Temple in Sunday’s fifth-place game.
Nebraska (3-2) will try and avoid a 0-3 run in the eight-team tournament against the Georgia-Temple loser.
If any team had a right to be winded and worn out, it was the Blazers who held leads in the final minute of regulation and overtime before losing their tournament opener. But UAB broke open a game tied at 50-all with a 25-17 run.
Fahro Alihodzic scored 16 points while Rod Rucker had 13 points and 10 rebounds for UAB.
Terran Petteway led Nebraska with 21 points.
Frazier powered UAB in the second half. His steal of a routine inbounds pass by Nebraska led to an easy bucket to go up 50-48. Shavon Shields’ basket a short time later tied it up for the final time before Frazier’s foul shot put the Blazers’ ahead for good. Frazier’s 3-pointer with 10:37 made it 60-54 and after Petteway cut the lead in half with a three-point play, Frazier hit his fourth and final 3 to restore the margin.
Frazier was 12 of 15 from the line. He also had seven assists, five rebounds and two blocks.
Nebraska and UAB both hoped to bounce back after disappointing defeats at the Charleston Classic.
The Cornhuskers had cut a 13-point deficit to 89-87 before falling to fast-paced Massachusetts to start the tournament with a 96-90 loss — the most points they’d scored in almost four years.
In the game that followed at TD Arena, the Blazers had their hearts broken, not one, not two, but three times by clutch 3-pointers in a double overtime loss to No. 19 New Mexico.
UAB had a six-point lead with under a minute left in regulation, a five-point lead in the last minute of overtime and were tied with the Lobos in the second OT before falling short.
UAB coach Jerod Haase said his players, exhausted and upset as they may be, had little choice but to rebound quickly and turn things around in game two.
And for much of the opening half they did, UAB building a 24-19 lead with 8:15 left in the opening period.
That’s when Nebraska turned up its defense for a 15-3 run to move in front. The Blazers had five turnovers in the stretch, including on three straight possessions.
When Deverell Biggs hit his second inside shot with 4:03 left, the Cornhuskers held a 34-27 lead.
The Blazers dug in the final four minutes, keeping Nebraska off the scoreboard the rest of the period. Frazier’s two foul shots with 2.4 seconds to go drew UAB to 34-31.