BARTOW ARENA - Rod Rucker tallied a double-double to lead UAB to an 82-63 win over Navy Sunday afternoon at Bartow Arena. The Blazers built up a 20-point halftime lead and coasted to the win over the visiting Midshipmen.

UAB jumped out to an 12-3 lead, but Navy scored five straight points to cut the margin to 12-8. The Blazers scored the next eight to extend the lead to 20-8. By the third media timeout, UAB led by 27-17.

That increased to 38-25 with 2:06 remaining in the first half. Jordan Swing hit a three-pointer after the timeout. He dished off an assist to Fabro Alihodzic, and Jekore Tyler dropped in an "alley oop" to finish the first half scoring. That gave UAB a 45-25 halftime lead.

By then, it was essentially over. Navy actually outscored UAB in the second half, but it didn't matter. The Blazers held on for an 82-63 win.

UAB did a better job of shooting than Navy, hitting 50 percent of their shots (33-for-66) to only 35 percent for the Midshipmen (20-of-57). The Blazers also won the rebounding battle, 47-to-27. The Blazers dished out 23 assists to only 10 for Navy

It was a win that improved UAB's season record to 2-1, but Coach Jerod Haase was disappointed with the team's effort. The problem, as he saw it, was that the team effort was not consistent for the entire game. "Effort cannot have an ebb and flow to it," he said after the game.

Rob Rucker led the Blazers with a double-double - 16 points and 13 rebounds. Three other Blazers reached double figures. Fahro Zlihodzic tossed in 16, while Jordan Swing and Preston Purifoy added 12 each.

Navy had three players in double figures. Brandon Venturini led the Midshipmen with 13 points, while Tilman Dunbar and Phil Guglielmo added a dozen each.

UAB returns to action Tuesday night when the team hosts Prairie View A&M at Bartow Arena.


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