Nov. 21, 2000

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM - Four UAB players scored in double figures, led by forward Eric Batchelor and guard LeAndrew Bass with 21 each as the Blazers (1-0) opened the 2000-01 regular season with a 97-62 victory over Alabama A&M (1-1) Tuesday evening at Bartow Arena.

Batchelor and Bass both had 15 of their 21 points in the first half, as the Blazers broke open a tie game (9-9 at 15:53) with a 12-2 run, building a double-digit lead midway through the period and leading 58-30 at intermission. Forward P.J. Arnold also had 15 points in the first half for UAB.

UAB would pour it on in the second half, extending its lead to as many as 37 points late in the game. The closest the Bulldogs would get was 27 points at 61-34 with 17:31 to play.

Arnold finished the game with 17 points and freshman guard Asa Woods had 10. Sophomore guard Tony Johnson finished with a career-high 11 assists on the night. Batchelor narrowly missed a "double-double" with a game-high nine rebounds.

"We didn't get off to a great start, but I thought we had a spurt there, about at the 15-minute mark, where we played awfully well," said UAB Head Coach Murry Bartow following the game.

"There were some positives. We spread the scoring around, we had four players in double figures. That's encouraging. We're shooting the ball pretty well. I think our defense can be much better than it is, but I think right now we're defending pretty well, especially when you take David Walker out of the game, who is probably our best defender (Walker missed the game with a sprained foot). To defend the way we did tonight without David is pretty encouraging. We are spreading the ball around. We are moving it well. We have a number of guys that can score, I think this is going to be a good rebounding team and potentially a good defensive team."

Guard Desmond Cambridge was the only player to reach double figures for Alabama A&M, finishing with 15 points. Kashawn Hampton led the Bulldogs with seven rebounds.

Alabama A&M Head Coach L. Vann Pettaway, whose team defeated Jacksonville State 74-71 last Saturday, was philosophical following the loss to UAB.

"You can always bring out a few positive things, and it is kind of hard to find them in this game," said Pettaway.

"Between here and Huntsville we will go over the tapes. I am sure that we will find a few positives to take from this game. We just have to get ready for the next game, we can not dwell on things. We will talk about the basic things, like our transition defense. We were not able to defend on the ball. After that, we have to find who wants to play and who wants to score on our ball club."

UAB returns to action Saturday vs. LaSalle at Bartow Arena in the second half of a double-header with the Lady Blazer basketball team. The UAB women take on Kansas at 6:00 pm, followed by the men's game at 8:30 pm CST.

Both games will be televised live on Comcast Sports Southeast cable outlets.