FORT WORTH – Wichita State's run in the American Athletic Conference Championship came to an end in the quarterfinals to fourth-seeded UAB, 72-60, Friday afternoon.
Wichita State finished the season 15-19 overall with a pair of wins in the AAC Championship, highlighted by an upset of No. 5 seed Memphis in the second round.
An 11-0 run late in the second half turned a two-point Wichita State lead into a nine-point deficit that proved to be too much to overcome.
Harlond Beverly and
Xavier Bell scored a team-high 14 points apiece. All 14 of Bell's came in the second half.
Colby Rogers added 10 but was just 3-for-15 from the field and 2-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Quincy Ballard pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds and blocked four shots, bringing his season block total to 74, the second most in school history.
Wichita State shot below 40 percent from the field and finished just 5-of-20 from three-point range. After halftime they were 1-for-8 and while the Blazers turned the tables and went 5-for-9 in the second half. In the first half, UAB was 1-for-8 from long range.
UAB grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and only committed four turnovers. Wichita State had just nine turnovers, but the Blazers had 11 points off those turnovers.
A physical, back-and-forth first half saw six ties and five lead changes. The largest lead of the half for either team was just three by Wichita State. UAB would go into the locker room with a 33-31 lead.
Both teams shot 37 percent from the field, but the Shockers outscored the Blazers by nine behind the three-point line. UAB missed eight of its nine tries. Rogers (8) and Cortes (7) had 15 of the team's 31 first half points.
UAB grabbed a five-point lead, the largest of the game to that point, with 12:41 remaining, but four straight from Beverly kept the Shockers in it.
With 8:22 to go, UAB held a 52-48 lead, but Bell went on a personal 6-0 run to give the Shockers a 54-52 lead. After two Bell free throws, the momentum switched right back to UAB's side on a Efrem Johnson three plus the foul. He would miss the free throw but Yaxel Lendeborg grabbed one of his six offensive rebounds – 14 total – and drew another foul. Lendeborg made both free throws to give UAB a five-point possession.
That five-point trip spearheaded an 11-0 run that had a pair of Daniel Ortiz three-pointers to give UAB a 63-54 lead with 4:21 in the game. Over the final 3:34, UAB answered every Wichita State score with one of its own. The deficit never came closer than seven.
