Ty Brewer had already secured a season-high in scoring midway through the second half of UAB’s second-round NIT matchup but was one rebound shy of his second double-double of the season.

It never came for the senior ETSU transfer.

Following a miss from a teammate on the offensive end, Brewer got a hand on the potential board but was unable to corral it as it bounced out-of-bounds.

“Knowing that I needed that last rebound, it’s kind of hurtful but the win takes the pain away,” Brewer said. “I’m going to let that one slide. I was frustrated, and I try to not show it, but tonight I’m proud of us. We didn’t come out sluggish and I’m proud of that.”

Despite coming up short on the double-double, Brewer, along with Trey Jemison, had season-best outings as the Blazers dominated their way to a 77-59 victory over Morehead State in the second round of the NIT, Sunday, March 19, at Bartow Arena in Birmingham.

UAB improves to 27-9 overall — winning 14 of its last 16 games — and advances to the NIT quarterfinal round following its win over the regular-season Ohio Valley Conference champions.

“Pleased, obviously, that we’re advancing,” UAB head coach Andy Kennedy said. “We led the game for 39 minutes and Morehead State is a really good team. They tried to make a run at us and our guys responded. Solid win.”

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The Blazers were 50 percent from the field, 26.3 percent (5-of-19) on 3-pointers, and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. UAB enjoyed a plus-10 advantage in the paint and a plus-14 edge in the rebounding battle and held Morehead State to 37.1 percent overall.

“I felt we were going to have a definitive size advantage,” Kennedy said. “Looking at Morehead (State), they’re small in their backcourt positions and we would have an advantage if we could get it to him (Brewer) in the box early.”

Ty Brewer had the best outing of his UAB career against the Eagles, finishing with a season-high 25 points — on 12-of-16 shooting – and nine rebounds. He scored the first four points of the game — six points during a 10-0 opening run — and added another seven points during a 13-0 run that saw the Blazers take a 29-11 lead over Morehead State with 6:40 remaining in the first half.

“Starting the game off, the first couple of shots really depict the momentum,” Brewer said. “When they go in, I got to keep going to keep us going. I felt like those were some important shots.”

Not content with a 17-point first-half performance, Brewer scored four points during an 8-0 run early in the second half and was a force on the defensive end throughout the game.

“It really comes down to — inside the 3-point (line), this is my whole area,” he added. “I feel confident and comfortable in that whole area.”

Trey Jemison produced his C-USA-leading 10th double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and grabbing a season-high 16 rebounds, adding three blocks, and Eric Gaines finished with 11 points, three boards and seven assists, while committing only one turnover.

Jemison had seven points in the first half, scored the first four points of the second for the Blazers and owned the glass in securing more than half of Morehead State’s rebounding total.

The Blazers allowed a 3-pointer from Morehead State to open the second half, cutting the lead to nine points, but built as much as a 22-point lead in the second half and earned the 18-point victory with a 10-3 closing run in the final 3:45 of the game.

“That’s where we need to be,” Kennedy said. “Tony Toney gave us great minutes, made a couple of shots at the end, but even more important we did a good a job of guarding Mark Freeman, the Player of the Year in the OVC. Pleased with everyone that got into the game for the most part and pleased that we’re still playing.”

Jordan “Jelly” Walker finished with only five points on 2-of-12 shooting, while KJ Buffen had eight points and six rebounds. Toney had eight points, three boards and three assists, and Tavin Lovan added four points and two assists. Javian Davis and Efrem “Butta” Johnson contributed two points each with the former adding six rebounds.

The Blazers advance to face No. 2 seed Vanderbilt at Memorial Gym in Nashville, either Tuesday or Wednesday, in the quarterfinal round of the NIT.