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University of Louisville
UAB
Men's Basketball Blazes Past UAB, 88-77
January 05, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Jan 5, 2002
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Reece Gaines scored 25 points as Louisville defeated UAB 88-77 on Saturday, giving Coach Rick Pitino a victory in his first Conference USA game.
Carlos Hurt scored 14 points, Erik Brown and Luke Whitehead scored 13 each, and Larry O'Bannon had 10 as Louisville (10-2, 1-0, CUSA) placed five players in double figures.
Morris Finley scored 23 points to lead UAB (7-7, 0-1).
Louisville built a 55-38 lead early in the second half, then watched UAB close to within 59-53 with 11:07 left in the game.
But the Cardinals went on a 9-0 run, with four different players scoring, to build the margin back to 15 points and put the game away.
Louisville, winning on the road for the first time this season, out-rebounded UAB 45-34 and shot 47.4 percent from the field.
P. J. Arnold scored 15 points and Eric Bush added 13 for UAB. Senior center Will Campbell had 13 points and 13 rebounds for UAB, but the Blazers shot only 39.7 percent from the field.
For the first nine minutes of the game, neither team led by more than three points. It was tied 15-15 when Louisville's Brown scored eight straight points, hitting a 2-point jump shot and two 3-pointers.
A 3-pointer by Finley helped UAB close to within 27-22. But reserve guard Alhaji Mohammed hit two 3-pointers to put Louisville back in charge.
The Cardinals took their largest lead of the first half, 43-27, when Whitehead converted a 3-point play off a steal with 59 seconds left. UAB's Bush hit three freethrows in the last minute of the half to cut the halftime margin to 43-30.
