PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Isaac Hamilton scored 21 points and No. 22 UCLA salvaged one win out of its trip to the Bahamas by topping Alabama-Birmingham 88-76 in the seventh-place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis on Friday night.
Norman Powell scored 15 points for the Bruins (5-2), while Bryce Alford went 11 for 12 from the foul line on his way to a 14-point night. Kevon Looney had 13, Thomas Welsh 12 and Tony Parker 10 for UCLA.
Nick Norton and C.J. Washington each scored 17 points for UAB (2-5), which was playing its third ranked team in three days and dropped all three contests.
Chris Cokley and Lewis Sullivan scored 13 points apiece for the Blazers.
Powell’s 3-pointer with 8:12 left put UCLA up 77-55, but UAB tried to make things interesting in the final minutes. The Blazers outscored the Bruins 17-5 over a 4 1/2-minute stretch, getting within 10 after back-to-back scores by Sullivan.
UCLA didn’t let the margin get any smaller, and snapped a two-game slide.
Norton left the game in the second half after getting bloodied by a cut over his left eye, prompting a brief delay with 18:23 remaining. Once the cut was bandaged and the streaks of blood were wiped from his close-cropped blond hair, he returned to help spark UAB’s comeback try.
TIP-INS
UCLA: The Bruins are 3-0 against UAB. … UCLA coach Steve Alford has wins against 149 Division I schools, and is four wins shy of 500 for his coaching career. … Friday’s game was the seventh for UCLA in a 15-day span, and the Bruins have gotten through that grind usually primarily an eight-man rotation.
UAB: The Blazers still have some big-name non-conference tests remaining, including a home game against LSU on Dec. 18 and a trip to North Carolina on Dec. 27. UAB beat the Tar Heels last season. … UAB averaged 45 points in its first two games in the Bahamas. The Blazers got to the 45-point mark Friday with 14:53 remaining.
RANKED STRUGGLES
The Battle 4 Atlantis had four ranked teams in the field, with No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 5 North Carolina and No. 18 Florida along with the Bruins. Combined, those four clubs went 7-5, with the Badgers (3-0) winning the title, the Tar Heels (2-1) finishing fifth, the Gators (1-2) sixth and the Bruins (1-2) seventh. Unranked teams Oklahoma, Butler and Georgetown finished second, third and fourth, respectively.
BAHAMA BLANKS
There were only two instances (out of a possible 24) in the tournament where a team shot better than 50 percent, one by Wisconsin and the other by Georgetown. Inside the ballroom-turned-arena — a cozy venue that Florida coach Billy Donovan thought would favor shooters — teams shot 529-for-1,334 over the three days, or 39.7 percent.
UP NEXT
UCLA: Home against Cal State-Fullerton on Wednesday night.
UAB: Home against Morehead State on Thursday night.
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