University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
UAB
Tigers Fall On The Road To UAB
Mar 02, 2006 | Men's Basketball
March 2, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Marvett McDonald had 17 points and UAB held No. 3 Memphis scoreless for more than eight minutes down the stretch in an 80-74 upset on Thursday night.
McDonald's jumper gave the Blazers a five-point lead with 2:47 to go, and UAB made six consecutive free throws in the final 33 seconds to snap the Tigers' 15-game winning streak.
UAB fans poured onto the court to celebrate a win that certainly bolstered the team's NCAA tournament hopes, and Wen Mukubu jumped on the scorer's table pumping his fists.
Memphis (26-3, 12-1) already has clinched the No. 1 seed in the Conference USA tournament, but could have secured the regular-season title outright with a win -- and kept alive its chances for a perfect league record.
The league's highest-scoring team went into a horrible drought late in the game, going 8:05 without a point before Shawne Williams' 3-pointer with 40 seconds left cut the deficit to 74-71. The Tigers missed six straight shots and had six turnovers during that stretch of offensive futility.
Memphis rediscovered its shooting touch too late.
Williams and Antonio Anderson both hit 3-pointers in the final minute but UAB (21-5, 11-2) iced it at the line.
Delaney hit two free throws with 33 seconds left and Squeaky Johnson forced Williams into a turnover at the other end.
Coming off a career-high 39 points against SMU, McDonald then hit four in a row to put the game away.
Frank Holmes had 15 points, Mukubu 12 and Delaney 10 for the Blazers.
Darius Washington led Memphis with 17 points while Rodney Carney had 16. Joey Dorsey finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds.
The Tigers held a 68-67 lead for more than 4 minutes late in the game, as both teams traded missed shots and turnovers.
Then the Blazers scored six consecutive points to take a 73-68 lead on McDonald's basket with 2:47 left, and held on.
The Tigers led by as many as 10 points in the first half before the Blazers closed on a 23-7 run for a 46-40 lead.
