BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – In the regular season finale, the Old Dominion men's basketball team (13-18, 9-9 C-USA) fell to UAB (18-13, 9-9 C-USA) by a 72-63 score on Saturday night at Bartow Arena.
The Blazers opened the second half on a 25-13 run, extending their lead to 14, 58-44, at the 5:43 mark. The Monarchs responded with a 14-5 run pull within five, 63-58, with 2:13 remaining in regulation, but would get no closer the rest of the way.
"We had too many mental mistakes on both ends of the court," said ODU head coach Jeff Jones. "This is discouraging coming off that win against UTSA. We have to play better. I want our guys to have a chip on their shoulder. We have one more chance. We need to be ready and play like we are capable of playing in Frisco."
Malik Curry paced the Monarchs with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. A.J. Oliver II followed with 13 points and seven rebounds. Xavier Green finished with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Old Dominion trailed by two at halftime, 33-31, as the Monarchs were led by Oliver II's 11 points (3-4 3PT) and four rebounds. Curry chipped in nine points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals in the opening 20 minutes.
Saturday night marked the end of the regular season for Old Dominion, as the No. 8 seeded Monarchs will play No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic at 7:00 p.m. ET in the First Round of the 2020 Conference USA Tour.
