UAB is the second in-state team to exit from the NCAA tournament in less than 24 hours following a 69-65 loss to San Diego State in Friday’s first-round matchup in Spokane, Washington.

The Blazers fell behind as many as 12 points in the second half but rallied to take a brief lead on a 19-5 run but could not close out the upset of the fifth-seeded Aztecs.

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UAB falls to San Diego State, 69-65 in NCAA tournament

Rewinding UAB’s 69-65 loss to San Diego State in first round of NCAA tournament

UAB was held to 37.7 percent from the field and gave up 14 turnovers, resulting in 17 points for San Diego State. Efrem “Butta” Johnson led the Blazers with 19 points, followed by Eric Gaines with 14 points and Yaxel Lendeborg with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Meanwhile, San Diego State third-team All-American Jaedon LaDee finished with a game-high 32 points on 11-of-18 shooting, along with eight rebounds, to lead the Aztecs into the second round of the tournament.

Early foul trouble

Although they trailed by only six points at halftime, the Blazers entered the second half severely handicapped due to foul trouble in its frontcourt.

Yaxel Lendeborg was the first to succumb to the whistles of the refs as he picked up his second foul midway through the first half and was tagged with a third with only 6:12 remaining until the break.

The AAC Defensive Player of the Year ended up playing four more minutes in the second half than he did in the first and was charged with his fourth foul with 14:40 left in the game. He finished with 11 points and seven rebounds after being shut out in the first half but eventually fouled out inside the final 20 seconds of the game.

Christian Coleman, who had been on a tear as of late, had only two points and did not grab a rebound in being limited to 9 minutes in the second half. Along with Lendeborg, Coleman had three fouls in the first half and picked up his fourth foul on the final San Diego State possession.

Javian Davis had seven points and four rebounds but was charged with four fouls in the second half and fouled out with a minute remaining.

San Diego State ended up with two more fouls than UAB and had two players finished with four fouls.

Early turnovers

UAB was well on its way to setting a season-high in turnovers but settled down in the second half to finish with 14 total, resulting in 17 points for the Aztecs.

The Blazers gave up six turnovers midway through the first half and had 11 total when trailing.

35-29 at halftime. During the turnover festival, San Diego State managed to build an 11-point lead, 27-16, off the work of a 16-5 run.

Despite digging itself a substantial hole due to turnovers in the first half and giving up another two turnovers during an early Aztec run in the second half, UAB had only three total in the second period, resulting in seven points, and managed to rally for a lead before hitting a shooting slump in the final seven minutes.

Butta vs. LaDee

San Diego State’s Jaedon LaDee more than earned his recent All-American nod in finishing with a game-high 32 points for the Aztecs.

LaDee was nearly impossible to stop and was 11-of-18 from the field and 1-of-1 on 3-pointers. He had 18 points in the first half and added 14 points in the second and ignited a 6-0 run on consecutive buckets after UAB had taken a 58-55 lead with 6:02 remaining in the game.

Meanwhile, UAB’s Efrem “Butta” Johnson had a team-high 19 points and started off hot in the second half in opening the scoring for UAB with a 3-pointer early in the period. He had two more triples during an 11-0 run and capped the scoring streak with a midrange shot to give the Blazers their first lead of the game, 51=49, more than midway through the second half.

UAB went cold in the final seven minutes, finishing 1-of-8 from the field, but Johnson had an opportunity to tie the game with eight seconds left, possibly forcing overtime, but could not convert the attempt and the Aztecs sealed the win at the foul line.