Sullivan, Lovan spark UAB past UTEP 76-63 with big 2nd half
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Lewis Sullivan scored 18 points with 10 rebounds and Tavin Lovan threw down a powerful tomahawk dunk that gave UAB the lead for good, defeating UTEP 76-63 Thursday night.
The freshman Lovan finished with 14 points — all after halftime— for UAB (11-7, 3-2 Conference USA), which won for the fourth straight time at home. Zack Bryant also scored 14 points and Tyreek Scott-Grayson added 10.
Evan Gilyard scored 25 points, Nigel Hawkins added 17 with five 3-pointers for UTEP (6-10, 1-4). Efe Odigie pitched in 10 points and 10 rebounds, the freshman's seventh double-double.
The Blazers trailed 32-29 at the break, but Sullivan hit a jump shot and Lovan a fastbreak layup for a 33-32 lead less than a minute into the second half. Lovan's dunk put UAB ahead 39-36 with 13:32 remaining. UAB's 47 second-half points were a season best.
The win sets up a Saturday clash with UTSA, also 4-1 in C-USA.
________
Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com
