Blazers In Bozoland as Shooting Fails UAB in 55-54 Loss To Tulane

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - February 15, 2026

UAB suffered yet another hard-to-explain loss in Bartow Arena. This time, with Andy Kennedy back on the bench, the shorthanded Blazers fought back from a double-digit second half deficit but couldn’t shoot straight in the final seconds of a 55-54 Tulane victory in an American Conference game on Sunday afternoon.

“We just couldn't get over the hump because we just can't score,” said Kennedy, whose team missed a chance to move up into a tie for third in the American Conference standings. “(Give up) 55 points on your own floor to Tulane, hold them to 36% shooting, outrebound them by double digits, only have eight turnovers, you should win the game. We score 54 points, man. We can't score.”

While it was 40 minutes of frustration on the offensive end, the final 43 seconds took on a life of its own. UAB (15-10 overall, 6-6 American Conference) trailed 55-52 and had just forced a stop on defense with 51 seconds left. They hustled down the court and Dayjuan Anderson took a contested 3-pointer that missed the mark and Daniel Rivera grabbed the offensive rebounds. That set off a dizzying sequence of missed 3-pointers and UAB offensive rebounds that was only interrupted by a missed tip by Evan Chatman and two timeouts by Kennedy. UAB missed six 3-pointers in the final 38 seconds, including a hurried 3-pointer by Anderson that spun out in the final seconds. Chatman followed the final miss with a rebound bucket but time ran out as the ball was falling in the basket.

UAB could have attempted to score at the basket during that sequence but the Blazers only had two fouls at that point. They would have needed five more fouls to get Tulane (15-10 overall, 6-6 American Conference) in the bonus, which could have run off too much time. So they fired away from the outside.

“We ran a play for DA (Anderson) and didn't make it and then it became kind of a free-for-all,” said Kennedy, whose team is 1-6 at home during conference play. “I used my last time out when we took a couple shots because sometimes in that Helter Skelter, you can get a cleaner look (after a timeout). I don't know until I see the tape, but I'm not sure (about) the looks under those situations. You're not going to get a very clean look.”

Of course, in game when UAB shot 31.7 percent from the field and made 10-of-22 layups, even clean looks were not guaranteed.

“We had our moments, we just didn't take advantage of them,” Kennedy said. “I mean, guys, we're talking about layups, man. These are college scholarship players that are making more money than most people in this room. Seriously, I mean, guys we're in Bozoland. We're in Bozoland, man. You just can't finish at the basket, that’s where we really miss (KyeRon Lindsay-Martin).”

Lindsay-Martin missed the past two games after hurting his shoulder in practice the day before the Blazers beat Rice on Feb. 8. He tried to return on Sunday, entering the game early in the first half, but lasted just a minute on the court before leaving in pain. He spent the rest of the game with ice on his left shoulder. UAB was also without Jacob Meyer, who missed for the third consecutive game, and Ahmad Robinson, who suffered a hand injury in the win at Tulsa.

Kennedy said afterward that Lindsay-Martin and Meyer have had tests run that show no structural damage and is uncertain if they will return quickly. Robinson is out for an extended amount of time.

On Sunday, Meyer’s absence was magnified by the offensive struggles, particularly in the backcourt where Chance Westry and Salim London were a combined 4-for-19 from the field.

“(Anderson) goes 4-for-12 (from 3-point range) and the rest of our team is 0-for-15,” Kennedy said. “That's when you really miss Jacob's offensive opportunities. Now, can he make them or not? We're 355th in the country in 3. It's not like we're great when we're full strength, but you'd like to have those options.”

Still, through it all, UAB found a way to be in the game in the final seconds despite trailing by 10 at halftime and never leading in the second half. But they never got over the hump.

Anderson finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, Chatman had 12 points and 13 rebounds, marking his fourth consecutive game with double digit rebounds, and Rivera had 12 points and 11 rebounds. But Rivera and Anderson were just 11-for-31 from the field with most of that coming in the paint.

Despite the final result, Kennedy said he felt much better physically than he did while missing the Blazers road trip to Tulsa.

“I don't feel great, but I feel a thousand times better than I did last week,” Kennedy said. “I was not able to go. The first time in my career, I've ever missed a game, and it was really out of just the inability to help the team. And also, I was running a fever. When you run a fever, I didn't want to be around the guys because I didn't want what I had on them. My goodness, they’d be out for about seven, eight years.”

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