BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY

JACKSONVILLE – A second half that coupled a red-hot UAB team and a cold-shooting Jacksonville State effort did the Gamecocks in on Tuesday night in an 87-62 win by the Blazers in their first trip to Pete Mathews Coliseum.

The Gamecocks (1-1) got 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds from sophomore Stephen Hall, who led four players in double figures, but it was the Blazers (3-1) who would take control of the game down the stretch. UAB connected on 62 percent of its shots in the final 20 minutes, while holding the Gamecocks to a 26 percent shooting percentage in the second half.

The Blazers took what was a tie game at the half and took control early in the second, building a seven-point lead in the first three minutes. They went 5-for-7 from behind the arc over the final 20 minutes to cap a 7-for-17 effort from 3-point lad on the game.

Hall, a native of Birmingham, notched his third career double-double and became the first JSU player since November of last year to pull in 15 boards in a game. Junior Trenton Marshall also scored 14 in the loss for JSU, while juniors Jeremy Bynum and Jay-R Strowbridge added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Strowbridge, a native of Huntsville, dished five assists.

UAB's Elijah Millsap scored 18 to lead five Blazers in double figures, while grabbing 11 boards for a double-double. Aaron Johnson pitched in 17 points, while dishing six assists.

The Gamecocks committed 14 turnovers and forced just seven, a number that resulted in the Blazers outscoring JSU, 17-8, in points off turnovers. Despite being outsized by their Conference USA opponent, the Gamecocks won the battle on the glass, 39-37, pulling in 19 offensive and 20 defensive boards.

JSU will wrap up its three-game homestand to open the 2009-10 season on Saturday at 4 p.m., when the Gamecocks host Georgia Southern at Pete Mathews Coliseum. The game will follow JSU's football season finale against Eastern Kentucky, and fans will be admitted free to the basketball game if they show their ticket stub from the football game.