The return of Jordan “Jelly” Walker to the UAB basketball team following a 5-game absence was not exactly a return to the Jelly of old.

He didn’t start the game. He didn’t score 30-plus points. But he did do exactly what he needed to allow his teammates to flourish against a ranked home opponent for the first time in seven years.

“Of course, it’s good for us but it’s also good for him,” senior guard Tavin Lovan said. “You know how it goes when you’re hurt. We need him on the offensive end and he came in and gave us great minutes. He picked us up and we picked him up as well. We met in the middle and it ended up working out.”

The Blazers put an end to the nation’s longest active winning streak and did so in emphatic fashion in their 86-77 win over No. 19 FAU, Thursday, Feb. 2, at Bartow Arena in Birmingham.

“Really proud of our group,” UAB head coach Andy Kennedy said. “The things that we could control, we controlled. We were locked in and our energy was good. We really guarded. FAU is number one in our league from an offensive efficiency standpoint. They still get 77 points but a lot of that was based on the fact they shot it 75 times. We did a good job off of our glass and not allowing them second-chance opportunities. Those were the keys in the game.”

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UAB entered the game at 75 in the NCAA NET, 71 in KenPom, and improves to 16-7 overall and 7-5 in C-USA with its Quad-1 win over the ranked Owls, who were 18 in the NET and owners of the nation’s longest active winning streak of 20 games.

Jordan “Jelly” Walker, the nation’s second-leading scorer (23.8 ppg), made his first appearance since a loss to Western Kentucky and finished with 13 points, 2 rebounds and 6 assists. Despite producing less than half of his scoring average, Walker’s mere presence on the court opened up opportunities for the entire cast.

“I was really proud to see him be able, from a physical conditioning and mental toughness standpoint, to be on edge,” Kennedy said. “He obviously didn’t shoot it well but made some big plays for us. They doubled him and just as important is the spacing he creates to allow others to finish.”

The Blazers shot 45 percent overall, 30 percent from 3-point range (6-of-20), and were 26-for-31 at the charity stripe. Defensively, UAB held the Owls to 37.3 percent from the field, 22.2 percent from beyond the arc, and owned a plus-8 edge in rebounding.

“We were more aggressive,” Kennedy said. “We did it against Rice and did not want to sit back on our heels. We wanted to be aggressive and force them into 2s. They got a good basketball team but our approach was right. We took the fight to them.”

Eric Gaines finished with a game-high 21 points, on 5-for-10 shooting and 10-of-11 at the free-throw line, and added 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Although he finished minus-4 in the plus/minus category, Gaines effectively controlled the tempo of the game in the waning minutes as he drove to the basket and was fouled subsequently three times, making 5-of-6 free-throw attempts.

“Hats off to (Tavin) Lovan, Tony Toney, those guys, obviously (Eirc) Gaines and Jelly,” FAU head coach Dusty May said. “They played well, made shots and did some things that really had us on our heels. The difference is the game was supplementary players that were not starred on the scouting report. They really impacted winning. We prepared for Jelly to play. He’s a great competitor and his adrenaline put him over the top.”

FAU led the game early in the first half but the Blazers took control on a 14-4 run that was ignited with consecutive old-fashioned 3-point plays by KJ Buffen and Javian Davis. UAB expanded its advantage to as many as 13 points on a 14-2 closing run and entered the halftime break with a 43-30 lead over the Owls.

Buffen had 9 points and 9 rebounds, and Tavin Lovan and Tony Toney were a defensive nightmare for FAU as they combined for quality on-ball and off-ball stops. Lovan finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds, while Toney had 9 points and 5 rebounds.

“Both of them had a good edge,’ Kennedy said. “They were physical between the two and finished plays at the basket. That’s the Tavin we know, downhil and finishing through contact is his gift. We need him to be our fullback.”

The Owls responded to UAB’s closing first-half run with its own to open the second half, cutting the deficit to 45-42 by way of a 12-2 run in the first four minutes. The Blazers gathered their wits during a timeout and proceeded to dominate the remainder of the game, regaining a double-digit lead with a 7-0 run and extending it to as many as 16 points with 3:56 left in the game.

A quick 8-0 run by the Owls trimmed the lead below 10 points but UAB closed the contest with patient offensive series and solid free-throw shooting.

Trey Jemison finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks, Javian Davis contributed 7 points and 5 rebounds, and the Brewer Brothers, Ledarrius and Ty, combined for 9 points and 7 rebounds.

The Blazers finish off a two-game home stand against FIU, Saturday, Feb. 4, at Bartow Arena in Birmingham. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT on ESPN+.