The UAB Blazers bounced back from their loss to East Carolina on Tuesday night, defeating the South Florida Bulls 85-78 in their annual Bartow Classic game. The moves their record to 16-9 overall with an 8-3 conference record, currently sitting 2nd, keeping pace with league-leading Memphis in the American Conference.

Senior forward Yaxel Lendeborg continued adding to his impressive college resume on Sunday afternoon, scoring 21 points, 19 rebounds, three assists with a whopping six blocks. It was his 17th double-double of the season and his 34th as a Blazer, moving him past Carlos Williams to be the all-time double-double leader in school history.

UAB’s frontcourt play was where today’s game was won, despite a massive game from South Florida forward Jamille Reynolds, scoring 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. The Blazers out-rebounded USF 46-to-33 had 17 second-chance points compared to the Bulls’ 6 and out-blocked South Florida 11-to-2.

The Blazers’ backcourt had a day as well, with Ja’Borri McGhee scoring 20 points on seven of nine shots, and Alejandro Vasquez scoring 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Their shooting as well as their playmaking led the Blazers to a 41-percent shooting day from deep, hitting seven of their 17 attempts.

South Florida’s backcourt can be credited for keeping this game close. The Bulls guard duo of Kobe Knox and Jayden Reid combining for 26 points, seven assists and shooting a combined 8-of-17 from three-point range on a day where the Bulls shot 43.8 percent from three.

UAB’s next game is at Rice, on Wednesday night at 7 p.m., and will be broadcast on ESPN+.