BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Options were minimal for Western Kentucky, and still the Hilltoppers had a chance to close in on UAB.

But the Hilltoppers never got there due to a poor shooting night and mental lapses that let the Blazers stay in control the whole time.

The limited Hilltoppers couldn’t get the run they needed in a 72-62 loss at UAB on Thursday night at Bartow Arena. WKU (9-6 overall, 2-1 Conference USA) cut a 13-point deficit to a one-point game with just over five minutes left before the Blazers (10-6, 1-2) closed the deal with a 9-0 run the Hilltoppers couldn’t come back from.

“We fought hard to bring it back to a one-point game,” junior forward Carson Williams said. “Made some really big mistakes late and that hurt us big. Small margin for error on the road. Those are mistakes we can’t afford to have.”

Taveion Hollingsworth led WKU with 19 points ion a night where only the starting five found the scoreboard. Hollingsworth and freshman Jordan Rawls were each issued technical fouls at different points in the second half that allowed UAB to get enough of an edge to kill any momentum WKU found.

Hollingsworth’s technical came with 10:25 left in the second half right when WKU cut it to a three-point game. The foul shots and another scoring possession let UAB extend its lead to seven.

Rawls, who played all 40 minutes in his first start replacing an injured Camron Justice, picked up a technical foul moments after WKU cut it to a one-point game with 5:05 left. That led to UAB going on a 13-2 run that put the game out of reach.

“We were on a run and had a lot of momentum going into that and to give them two easy points doesn’t help that hole we were digging,” Hollingsworth said. “We just have to learn from that.”

Hollingsworth scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half where WKU played its thinnest lineup. The Hilltoppers had zero points from their bench, which contributed a combined 16 minutes in the loss.

Justice played just eight minutes off the bench and missed three 3-point attempts after not practicing all week due to a back injury. Williams had 12 points and eight rebounds, Jared Savage had 11 points and nine rebounds, mostly coming in the first half, while Rawls and Josh Anderson each had 10 points.

The Hilltoppers were 9-of-29 from the 3-point line, the most shots they’ve attempted behind the arc all season. Those long shots were due to Williams and company struggling to establish any presence driving the basket. WKU made good on four trips to the foul line in the second half and finished 11-of-12 for the game while shooting 23-of-63 (36.5 percent) from the field. The Blazers outrebounded WKU 41-29 and outscored the Toppers in the paint 42-16.

UAB entered the game having limited its last three opponents under 60 points.

“We were battling our butts off,” WKU coach Rick Stansbury said. “It wasn’t easy to get points in the paint. Those guys are big, strong and a really good defensive team. We didn’t get to the foul line as much. It’s difficult when you can’t drive it to the block and get points and drive it in there consistently to get points. They’ve been a good defensive team all year long.”

Franklin native Tavin Lovan led the Blazers with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and freshman Jalen Benjamin also poured in 16 points.

Savage helped WKU make up for an otherwise slow start in scoring with three 3-pointers, accounting for nine of the Hilltoppers’ first 10 points. WKU led 13-8 before a 6-0 run put UAB in a one-point lead at the 11:34 mark.

That run stretched to 12-2 to make the Blazers’ lead 20-15 four minutes later. Jordan Rawls’ jumper with 2:52 left in the half cut the UAB lead to one, but WKU went scoreless the rest of the way as the Blazers built a 31-25 lead at halftime.

WKU shot 26 percent in the first half and half of its field goal attempts were 3-point shots.

Lovan started the second half with a dunk to spark the Blazers to an 11-point lead. The Hilltoppers worked to cut that lead to one with a 6-0 run capped by Hollingsworth’s steal and assist to Anderson for a dunk at the 5:26 mark.

But WKU never got any closer. UAB made four free throws after the Rawls technical and Lovan led the Blazers on a 9-0 run to close out the game with a dunk and a layup.

“Proud of the way our guys battled to get themselves in position to have an opportunity,” Stansbury said. “But you have to eliminate those points that hurts our team. We had four (technical shot) points and who knows what the outcome could’ve been.”

UP NEXT

WKU visits Middle Tennessee Saturday at 5 p.m.

NOTES

Rick Stansbury is now 71-48 in four seasons as WKU’s head coach. … UAB’s win extends the Blazers’ lead to 25-16 in the all-time series. Stansbury is now 6-4 in his career against the Blazers. … WKU has hit a 3-pointer in 1,024 consecutive games dating back to March 15, 1987. … WKU wore black jerseys Thursday for the first time since 2014-15. … Freshman Jordan Rawls played all 40 minutes and had a career-high five assists. … Announced attendance at Bartow Arena was 2,385.{&end}