BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball couldn't stop the hot Senior Night shooting of UAB on Saturday, taking a 101-73 loss in the regular-season finale at Bartow Arena.
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The Blazers (19-12, 10-8 Conference USA) lived up to their name, shooting 61.7 percent from the field, netting 15 of 24 3-pointers and recording 26 assists.
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WKU (22-9, 14-4) will now be the No. 3 seed in next week's Conference USA Basketball Championship in Frisco, Texas. The Hilltoppers will play either sixth-seeded UAB or 11th-seeded Florida Atlantic at 9 p.m. CT Thursday in the quarterfinals.
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Senior forward Justin Johnson led WKU with 18 points and 11 rebounds for his 35th career double-double, while redshirt junior guard Lamonte Bearden added 17 points, five assists and three steals.
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Senior forward Dwight Coleby had 12 points and seven boards.
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UAB made its first five 3-pointers of the game and used an 11-0 run to open a 27-15 advantage at the 11:01 mark.
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The Blazers eventually led by as much as 15, but WKU went on its own 9-0 spurt to trim the deficit to 37-31 with 3:37 remaining. The Hilltoppers trailed 45-37 at the break.
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UAB made 9 of 15 shots from 3-point range in the first half.
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WKU cut UAB's lead to 47-43 early in the second half, but the Blazers went on a 13-0 run and eventually led by as much as 31 with 4:54 to play.
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Nate Darling led UAB with 23 points, knocking down all six of his 3-point attempts.
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