UAB Defeats South Alabama, 80-72, On Friday Night At Bartow Arena

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - November 22, 2025

Andy Kennedy is well aware of the basketball history between UAB and South Alabama. But the UAB head coach Andy Kennedy focused more on recent history during his pregame work with his team coming into Friday night’s 80-72 win over previously unbeaten South Alabama at Bartow Arena.

“They were 6-0 for the first time in the history of South Alabama,” Kennedy said. “I told our team, South's done good things. They've gotten off to a good start. They've won at Toledo, not an easy place to win. They've won at Jax State, not an easy place to win. They've won a couple of neutral site games. They've done what they're supposed to. And if you allow them to come into your building and beat you, guess what? It's going to be a news story. And you're going to be on the bad end of it. Or you can have a chance to pick up a Quad 3 win at home before you've got your next four on the road.”

Coming out with a win meant the Blazers (4-2 overall) found a way to solve the suffocating zone employed by Richie Riley’s South Alabama team. They did just that by getting timely outside shooting from Jacob Meyer and Ahmad Robinson, some strong play from the inside trio of Evan Chatman, KyeRon Lindsay-Martin and Daniel Rivera and the unselfish distribution from Chance Westry.

Mix it all together and the Blazers found a way to hand South Alabama its first loss of the season.

“It's huge, you know, especially with these next few games we have coming up,” Meyer said. “Huge momentum for us and team chemistry is definitely boosting each game. We're a new team, so it's definitely helping out. This was a huge win for us, and I think a lot of players on the team made huge impacts tonight.”

No one’s contribution was bigger on Friday night than Meyer, who finished with 24 points and hit 6-of-12 3-pointers.

“You know, I needed a game like this to get my 3-ball going,” said Meyer, who was 2-for-14 on 3-pointers in the first five games. “It was definitely preparation and practice with my coaches. You know, just looking at certain things in my shot and tweaking some habits.”

The timing certainly was right.

“I thought he was fantastic,” Kennedy said. “He really stepped up because those slot 3s, meaning the slots just outside the key area at the top, that's where the shots are. They are so packed in. If you can get some penetration against it, I just wanted some step-in shots, and Jacob stepped up huge for us tonight.”

Westry had a big role in creating the opportunities for Meyer and the other Blazers. Westry entered the game averaging 21 points per game but struggled to get clean looks against the Jaguars zone. He was just 2-of-9 from the field but his biggest impact came by distributing the ball for 11 assists.

“That's just kind of how he is,” Kennedy said of Westry, who also finished with 10 points, five rebounds and a steal. “ He's got great pace to his game. He is a big guard that needs to play a little tighter. I think sometimes he plays a little too upright, allowing the opponent to play under him, which gives the advantage to them. And that's when they were able to knock the ball away. He had three turnovers and four assists in the first half. In the second half, he ends up with 11 assists. So again, my math is not great, but that's seven assists and zero turnovers (in the second half).”

It was the first half when UAB built a cushion by patiently attacking the zone defense and using the energy of Lindsay-Martin to take a 36-26 lead into halftime. Lindsay-Martin came off the bench to contribute 11 points and six rebounds in the first half.

Things changed a bit in the second half, partly because UAB missed five of its first six free throws and didn’t finish at the rim. UAB also had trouble stopping Chaze Harris from getting  to the rim and Adam Olsen hit some key 3-pointers. South Alabama chipped away at the lead and finally drew even at 67 with 2:52 on the clock. The Blazers sandwiched 3-pointers from Robinson and Meyer around a South Alabama bucket to build the lead to four and then pulled away down the stretch from the free throw line.

The Blazers finished with 25 assists on 28 made baskets and outrebounded South Alabama, 42-29 overall and 15-6 on offensive boards. Chatman had a team-high 11 rebounds, Lindsay-Martin finished with 11 points and eight rebounds and Rivera had 13 points and eight rebounds. Robinson scored all 12 of his points on 3-pointers and added five assists with no turnovers in 29 minutes.

UAB’s next four games are away from Bartow Arena, beginning with Jacksonville Classic games against Southern Illinois on Monday and UTEP on Tuesday.