BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Rod Rucker collected his 10th double-double of the season as Alabama-Birmingham won its fourth straight, defeating Southern Methodist 74-69 Saturday.
Rucker had 21 points and 11 rebounds, including a key layup late. SMU's Nick Russell hit a jumper with 1:48 remaining to pull the Mustangs within 68-67, but Rucker answered with a layup, then he and Jordan Swing combined for four free throws to lock up the win.
The Blazers (15-14, 7-7 Conference USA) trailed 63-61 with 5:48 left when Fahro Alihodzic's layup sparked a 6-0 run for a 67-63 edge.
Ryan Manuel led the Mustangs (14-15, 4-10) with 15 points.
UAB had held opponents under 40 percent shooting in five of its past six halves, but SMU shot 57.7 percent (30 of 52). The Mustangs made just 2 of 9 3-pointers, though, and were dominated 35-25 on rebounds - the Blazers have edged six straight opponents on the glass.
| Scoreboard | |||
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
| Southern Methodist (14-15) | 33 | 36 | 69 |
| UAB (15-14) « | 27 | 47 | 74 |
Louisville Cardinals 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball National Champs Locker Room Gear
Ge your now Shop Now
| Southern Methodist Mustangs | |||||||
| STARTERS | M | FG | FT | TR | A | PF | PTS |
| S. Williams, F | 35 | 6-9 | 0-1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| C. Cunningham, C | 38 | 6-11 | 0-0 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| N. Russell, G | 39 | 6-12 | 2-2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 14 |
| R. Manuel, G | 35 | 6-8 | 3-3 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 15 |
| J. Jones, G | 23 | 4-6 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| BENCH | M | FG | FT | TR | A | PF | PTS |
| B. Bernardi | 20 | 2-5 | 2-3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| L. Giles | 6 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| U. Ofoegbu | 4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| J. Dickerson | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 30-52 | 7-9 | 25 | 13 | 21 | 69 | |
| 57.7% | 77.8% | ||||||
| UAB Blazers | |||||||
| STARTERS | M | FG | FT | TR | A | PF | PTS |
| R. Rucker, F | 39 | 7-16 | 7-9 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 21 |
| J. Swing, F | 26 | 3-8 | 5-7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
| R. Williams, G | 35 | 4-5 | 1-3 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| Q. Taylor, G | 29 | 3-7 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| P. Purifoy, G | 24 | 0-3 | 2-2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| BENCH | M | FG | FT | TR | A | PF | PTS |
| F. Alihodzic | 30 | 7-11 | 4-5 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 18 |
| T. Jones | 17 | 0-5 | 2-2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Totals | 24-55 | 21-28 | 35 | 12 | 13 | 74 | |
| 43.6% | 75% | ||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other games | |||||||||||||||||
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
