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The question of what went wrong for the UAB men’s basketball team during Saturday night’s 71-68 loss to Jacksonville State was not hard to figure out. Just check out what happened in the paint.
The Gamecocks not only outrebounded the Blazers, 40-31, but they also got a career best performance by 6-foot-8 Ethan Croley, who averaged 1.9 points and 1.3 rebounds last year at Nevada and entered the game averaging 7.3 points and 5.7 rebounds this season. On Saturday, he was the best big man on the floor by a considerable amount.
“First shot defense really doesn’t matter if you can’t secure your defensive glass,” Kennedy said in the postgame on Blazer Sports Network from Learfield. “We got outrebounded by nine, we give up 12 big offensive rebounds. (Croley) goes for 20 points and 17 rebounds, just completely dominates us up front, which is problematic for us.”
Kennedy is still searching for an answer in the front court. His best option – KyeRon Lindsay-Martin – is sitting in the stands hoping to become eligible for a fifth college basketball season as the clock quickly ticks. Antallah Sandlin-El started on Saturday but didn’t secure a rebound in 15 minutes on the floor. True freshman Kaleb Davis played a season-high 16 minutes but had just two points and three rebounds. Matt Mbole had one rebound and one turnover in four minutes.
“We're not getting production out of the five as it relates to paint presence, as it relates to the ability to finish at the basket, as it relates to defending the basket and as it relates to rebounding,” said Kennedy, whose team fell to 2-2. “So we have got to figure something out. It's the reason that we go to as many zones as we do, just to try to disguise our inability to be a force in the paint.”
That was certainly a big part of the reason for UAB trailing for most of Saturday’s game. Jacksonville State led by as many as 12 points in the game and held the lead for nearly 32 minutes.
“Offensively we don’t help ourselves,” Kennedy said. “We didn’t turn it over tonight but inability to make plays off the bounce by playing through contact (hurts). Quite frankly I thought Jacksonville State was a little more aggressive and in a one possession game those things come back to haunt.
UAB found a way to make it a one-possession game despite Jacksonville State taking a 63-51 lead with 4:50 left. UAB used a 9-2 run, which featured five points by Elijah Duval, to crawl back to a five-point deficit after Justyn Fernandez dunked the ball following a steal with 2:44 remaining. Duval and Salim London both hit 3-pointers to keep UAB in the game and a pair of free throws by Duval trimmed the deficit to 69-68 with three seconds left. But Kash Polk hit two free throws with 1.9 seconds left and UAB threw the ball away on the inbounds pass.
Fernandez had a team-high 15 points but was just 7-of-17 from the field. London had 14 points and seven rebounds, Jeremy Elyzee contributed 13 points and four rebounds and Duval had 12 points. UAB played without starting point guard Deuce Jones, who injured his heel in Thursday’s practice, and the team finished with just seven assists.
It’s a big deal that the UAB football team reached bowl eligibility on a chilly Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia. But UAB head coach Alex Mortensen wasn’t quite ready to celebrate after the Blazers whipped Temple, 36-10, in an American Conference game with all three phases having a significant hand in the victory.
“It’s obviously a great accomplishment to get bowl eligible for the first time in four years and really the first time in the true wide open Portal Era in my mind,” Mortensen said on his postgame appearance on the Blazer Sports Network from Learfield. “At the same time, my mindset is this will be a great accomplishment for our fan base to hopefully celebrate. But, internally, we’re going to celebrate it more after the year is over and focus on what’s in front of us, which is going back to Protective and playing a very good conference opponent.”
Reaching bowl eligibility for the first time since the 2022 team beat Miami of Ohio in the Bahamas Bowl under interim head coach Bryant Vincent is a big deal. Perhaps an even bigger deal, at least for now, is that the Blazers (6-4 overall, 4-2 American Conference) remained mathematically in position to chase a spot in the conference championship. Reaching that accomplishment will take some help from other teams but it is still possible. And the Blazers stayed in contention with their most dominant performance of the season.
The domination included the best game of the season for a UAB offense that was over the 500-yard mark un”til losing two yards on a final play kneel down. The Blazers gained 499 yards overall with 366 of that coming on the ground. Roderick Robinson II gained 202 yards on 22 carries with touchdown runs of 6, 33 and 54 yards. It was the first time that a UAB running back cracked the 200-yard mark since DeWayne McBride had 272 yards in the final game of the 2022 season at Louisiana Tech. Ironically, that performance also came in a bowl eligibility clinching victory.
“Rod did get hot,” Mortensen said. “He ran really well. Look, Bam McReynolds ran well early in the game, Ja’Vin (Simpkins), all these guys were really effective. It was neat to see Jayson Moll and JR Mosley come in at the end of the game too. Getting five guys touches over the course of the game was awesome. But Rod obviously had a huge stat line – 22 carries for 202 yards, averaged 9.2, had some big ones. That was really awesome.”
As usual, the defense did its part, limiting the Owls to 85 yards through the air and limiting Temple’s success. The lone Temple touchdown came after a tipped Ryder Burton pass was intercepted at the UAB 25-yard line. It took Temple (2-8 overall, 1-5 American Conference) six plays to score from there with quarterback Ajani Sheppard finding Jojo Bermudez for the 12-yard touchdown. Other than that, the UAB defense was dominant with Marlin Dean leading the way. Dean, who entered the game with a national co-leading 10.5 sacks, finished with eight tackles, seven solo tackles, a sack for a safety, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery.
“I think the defense played a complete game,” Mortensen said. “To your point, they played really good against the pass. It’s a credit to both the pass rush and the coverage, both parts doing really well. Coach Grantham and the whole defensive staff having a really good plan and guys played really hard. It’s always good to get points on the defense, particularly a safety, those are awesome.”
The safety came in a second half when the Blazers turned a 13-10 halftime lead into a runaway victory.
WHAT IT MEANS: Understandably the UAB players and coaches want more but reaching bowl eligibility is a big deal. It also adds to the confidence for UAB as the Blazers head into a difficult two-game stretch against UTSA and North Texas to end the regular season.
WHEN THE GAME TURNED: All three phases contributed to the game-turning sequence. It began with UAB punter Oliver Straw pinning Temple at the 3-yard line with a 46-yard punt early in the third quarter. The defense responded by stopping two runs before Marlin Dean hurried Temple quarterback Ajani Sheppard into an incompletion. UAB took over at the 46-yard line after the Temple punt. Five plays later, Rod Robinson burst 33 yards to a touchdown to give UAB a 20-10 lead. The Blazers dominated the rest of the game.
WHY UAB WON: UAB’s offense gained 499 yards, including 366 on the ground, and scored a season-high 36 points. The defense was its usual dominant self but give the offense a ton of credit for this one.
WHAT ARE THE KEY STATS: UAB’s top three running backs – Rod Robinson, Bam McReynolds and Ja’Vin Simpkins – gained 316 yards on 42 carries with Robinson scoring three touchdowns on the ground. UAB was 6-of-13 on third down while Temple managed just two conversions on 12 third downs. Ryder Burton was 11-of-19 for 133 yards, including a 61-yard connection with Scott Isacks to set up Rod Robinson’s first rushing touchdown.
WHO GETS THE GAME BALLS: Obviously a good choice would be Robinson, who had a season-high in carries. He was sensational. But the game ball this time goes to the offensive line of left tackle Keyon Cox, left guard Donovan Lawrence, center Adam Lepkowski, right guard Calib Perez and right tackle Payton Kirkland. They played the bulk of the snaps up front and, while not perfect, paved the way for the explosive day on offense.
WHAT DID COACH MORTENSEN SAY IN HIS POSTGAME RADIO APPEARANCE:
On the win: “I think there were a lot of positives. Our focus was really good. Fortunately our travel did go well but I think we did focus on the game. We talked about going on the road with the right mentality but made it more about the game and the football. I do think it was complete in a lot of ways. I do think, also there are some things we’ve got to do better early in the first half to play complementary football the way we need to. There were some things at the end of the half that we could have helped ourselves out more. Obviously there was a turnover too. There is still plenty to get better at but it was a complete win to have right at 500 yards of offense, the defensive was dominant and I think Rod Robinson is the first to have 200 yards rushing since 2022.”
On the play of the offense and the offensive line: “I think our offensive line did a really good job in a lot of areas in terms of controlling the line of scrimmage, particularly in the run game. I think we got better in pass protection as we went on. It’s the thing we’ve been talking about, we can keep getting better. I think as you saw late last week through this week, I think we’re getting better in the running game, technique wise, working together. We’re going to keep pushing that. That was really good to see. That really gave the gasoline to be able to stay ahead of the chains today.”
On reaction to slower start: “I think our reaction was positive. You talk about having good poise and not losing our cool and all those things. At the same time, I do think early in the game, our defense is playing really well, we’re running the ball really well. We don’t need to turn that ball over early in the game like that and give them a short field. It really led to their only real offensive touchdown of the day. We’re measuring ourselves against our standard, measuring ourselves against chasing our best and also what it’s going to take to play winning football in tight games. There is plenty to learn from there but, yeah, I do think the response was good. I think realistically it’s rare that you play a perfectly clean game. That has been one of the common denominators of our team so far is we’ve played four quarters. Even Ryder throws the pick and comes back and hits Scott Isack on a huge play that sets up a touchdown. He’s fearless in a situation like that, so all of that is positive.
On the contribution of the passing game from Scott Isacks: “Scott had a big play against ECU for 81 yards (called back) and had a big one here today. Speaking of plays called back, we had third down and Ryder made a great throw to Ty Mims. It was well protected and they got us for illegal formation because we had an offensive lineman lined up a little bit deep. There were some positive things in the passing game too.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
4:25 - TEM | Jojo Bermudez snared a 12-yard scoring pass from Ajani Sheppard. Carl Hardin made the extra point. The scoring drive lasted six plays and covered 25 yards. The drive was set up by Adrian Lang’s interception of a Ryder Burton pass. (7-0, TEM).
2:54 – UAB | Rod Robinson scored on a 6-yard run. Jonah Delange added the extra point. The scoring drive lasted three plays and covered 78 yards. The touchdown came one play after a 67-yard pass from Ryder Burton to Scott Isacks. (7-7).
Second Quarter
10:33 - UAB | Jonah Delange made a 50-yard field goal. The scoring drive lasted 10 plays and covered 56 yards. (10-7, UAB)
6:11 – TEM | Carl Hardin made a 44-yard field goal. The scoring drive lasted six plays and covered 45 yards (10-10)
1:44 – UAB | Jonah Delange made a 30-yard field goal. The scoring drive lasted 12 plays and covered 63 yards. (13-10, UAB).
Third quarter
7:09 - UAB | Rod Robinson scored on a 33-yard run. Jonah Delange added the extra point. The scoring drive lasted five plays and covered 46 yards. (20-10, UAB).
Fourth quarter
10:56 - UAB | Marlin Dean sacked Temple quarterback Ajani Sheppard in the end zone for a safety. (22-10, UAB).
8:20 – UAB | Rod Robinson scored on a 54-yard run. Jonah Delange added the extra point. The scoring drive lasted five plays and covered 75 yards. (29-10, UAB)
2:47 – UAB | Nate Rogers ran five yards for a touchdown. Jonah Delange added the extra point. The scoring drive lasted six plays and covered 56 yards. (36-10, UAB)
WHERE IS UAB’S NEXT ASSIGNMENT: UAB returns home for a key American Conference game against UTSA at Protective Stadium. It will be the final home game in the regular season for UAB.
The easy way to describe what was supposed to be Payton Kirkland’s first season as a college football starter was that setbacks turned it into a negative experience.
The 6-foot-6, 315-pound Chicago native entered the season as UAB’s starter at left tackle. Less than two quarters into the season, Kirkland was helped off Gies Memorial Stadium on the University of Illinois campus in the second quarter of UAB’s loss to the Illini. After receiving treatment in the sideline injury tent, Kirkland left the field on the back of a cart. He missed the next three games after the ankle subluxation. He returned to practice fairly quickly but wasn’t able to play again until the fifth week of the season. Kirkland played on 64 snaps during a win over Samford and loss at Memphis before facing another setback. He suffered a deep tissue injury at Memphis and only played one snap over the next three games.
Put all that together and it would seemingly be easy for Kirkland view the season in a negative light, particularly after finally earning his way on the field after a college journey that included stops at Texas and Colorado and just two game time appearances over three seasons. But Kirkland said he chose to look at it as more of a chance to grow as a person instead of turning to negativity.
“Tremendously, man,” Kirkland said when ask about his growth during this season. “You know, it's easy to get down and backtrack, you could say. I spent a lot of this offseason honing my skills, especially on the left side and then trying to become a leader in my room, bringing the other guys up around me up. It did hurt my feelings a little bit and wasn’t easy. It's all about being a soldier and being able to get back to it and keep your mind moving forward rather than staying stagnant. I feel like just my faith in God was more than enough to be able to put, pull me through this season and get back.”
He said this on Wednesday afternoon, just a few minutes after finishing a full pad practice with his teammates. During the media viewing period, Kirkland was working with the first group at right tackle, alongside guard Calib Perez. Kirkland moved to that side of the ball with Keyon Cox playing well at left tackle. Time will tell if Kirkland is in the starting lineup on Saturday afternoon as the Blazers have the chance to reach bowl eligibility in an American Conference game against Temple at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Barrett Maddox has been the starter in right tackle in each of the team’s nine games. No matter who is on the field first, Kirkland could strengthen a spot that has faced struggles this season.
Maddox has an overall grade of 29.5, according to Pro Football Focus, with marks of 30.8 on run blocking and 40.8 on pass blocking. He was credited with eight sacks allowed, four quarterback hits and 15 quarterback hurries, according to PFF. Now, those aren’t official numbers but they do indicate that the right tackle positioned needs to be strengthened, particularly with Kyrik Mason being credited by PFF with three sacks allowed, two quarterback hits and three quarterback hurries.
For the first time in a while, Kirkland should be helping out on the field, even if he doesn’t get the starting nod, as the Blazers try to reach bowl eligibility.
“You know, it's definitely heartbreaking, anger and all of the above when it comes down to being sideline when you know you could be of assistance,” Kirkland said. “I know the staff and everybody just wanted the best for me in that time period, so it wasn't too much thinking or resentment towards (being injured). It was more of a ‘When I get back, I want to try to make up for that lost time rather than think about what has happened over that time.’ I'm proud of my guys and I'm proud of the performances that we have put out because we have grown a lot as a unit and a lot of the guys are coming along. We’ve become better as the season's went on. I have a lot of trust in those guys.”
It sounds like a simple way to describe a successful night but, according to UAB men’s basketball head coach Andy Kennedy, things went well for his team because they put the ball in the basket.
“You know, it’s amazing how much better your team looks when the ball goes in the basket,” Kennedy said after his team thumped Florida A&M, 92-64, in a non-conference game at Bartow Arena.
Even problem areas in the early part of the season – turnovers and rebounding – were cured on this particular night. UAB, which committed 31 turnovers in the first two games, avoided a turnover in the first 20 minutes and ended up with just eight for the game.
“Like I said, it’s a fun game when you’re hitting the shots,” said guard Justyn Fernandez, who tied Deuce Jones for team-high honors with 20 points. “I think that us hitting shots and not giving them the ball kind of let us go up by 20.”
The Blazers also controlled the boards, outrebounding the Rattlers, 49-33, overall and 19-7 on the offensive glass. They did it by getting contributions throughout the lineup. Aleks Alston had eight rebounds, Matt Mbole and Jeremy Elyzee each had eight rebounds with Mbole’s coming in just 12 minutes on the floor and every player who played at least 10 minutes had at least three rebounds.
“Good defense helps offense and kind of vice versa,” said Kennedy, whose team outscored Florida A&M, 13-5 on fastbreak points. “I think that the more we defend and get rebounds the more transition opportunities will come about. I think that’s where we’ll be at our best but it starts with getting stops.”
The stop came on Monday night and UAB made it pay off on the opposite end of the floor by making 12 of 24 3-pointers with Fernandez, Jones, Salim London and Tim Holliday all hitting two from long range. While Fernandez and Jones led the way in points it was London filling the stat sheet with 12 points, six rebounds, six assists, two steals and two turnovers in 23 minutes.
“I love Salim,” Kennedy said. “He had a huge night. He had one of this turnovers trying to feel (Alston), who was kind of posting. We just do some foolish things. But I thought to see the ball go in the basket for him (was big). He made two big 3s. We need to see Salim be our steadying force. It’s good for his mojo to play well.”
UAB (2-1) plays its first true road game of the season on Saturday night at Jacksonville State.
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