GAME NOTES: The UAB Blazers shoot for back-to-back wins for the first time this season, as they tangle with the George Washington Colonials in non- conference play at the Smith Center in the nation's capital tonight.
UAB has won a total of just three games in 10 chances this season, and all of them have come at home in Bartow Arena, so the Blazers are also gunning for their first win of the season away from home as well. Last week, the team won for the second time in three games with a 70-65 triumph against Jacksonville.
As for the Colonials, they too are off to a rough start in 2011-12 with just four wins in 11 opportunities. However, one of the major differences between the squads is that GW has won just one of four games at home thus far and that was in the season opener against Maryland-Eastern Shore. In fact, since opening the year with four wins in five tries, the Colonials have hit the skids with a six-game slide. Last week, the team hosted James Madison and was taken down by the Dukes in a 62-57 final.
This is the third meeting between these two teams all-time, with both having won once previously. The most recent matchup took place last season with UAB taking the victory.
In a game that featured 11 ties and nine lead changes, the Blazers took control at the right time against Jacksonville last week as the hosts secured the five-point win thanks to Cameron Moore who registered a huge double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds, adding five blocked shots as well. Jordan Swing tallied 14 points, Ovie Soko tallied 12 points and nine boards, followed by Preston Purifoy with 10 points as the team overcame 20 turnovers thanks to a 47-27 edge on the glass. Through 10 games Moore, the only player to have started every outing, is averaging a double-double with 14.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per contest, his 4.0 blocks per game also ranking him among the nation's best. Unfortunately, the rest of the Blazers have just nine more blocked shots, which means Moore is pretty much the team's main defensive presence in the paint.
The Colonials took themselves out of contention in the first half against James Madison last week when they made a total of just nine field goals, eventually shooting a mere 41.1 percent from the floor, 3-of-12 beyond the arc and 8-of-17 at the free-throw line in the five-point decision. David Pellom gave the group a huge lift off the bench with his team-high 22 points on a perfect 9-of-9 shooting from the floor, but that just means the rest of the squad combined to hit 14-of-47 attempts. Tony Taylor tacked on 12 points and Lasan Kromah chipped in 10 to go along with seven boards and four assists. On a team that is averaging just 61.7 ppg right now, Taylor is the lone double- digit scorer with his 12.8 ppg. In addition to his scoring punch, Taylor is also first on the team with 50 assists and 18 steals, as he shows quick hands at both ends of the floor.
Neither one of these teams is setting the world on fire, but with the potential to dominate on the glass the Blazers probably have the advantage in this meeting.
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