The persistence of Efrem “Butta” Johnson cannot be undervalued.

In fact, it’s a trait that should not be trifled.

Trailing 45-34, less than midway through the second half, the true freshman for the UAB basketball team, with tooth and nail, fought for and emerged triumphantly from a multi-man rebound scrum.

Johnson scored on the point-blank layup beneath the basket, missed the ensuing and-1 opportunity, but provided the spark the Blazers needed in rallying from a double-digit deficit for a 79-73 double-overtime victory against UTEP, Thursday, Dec. 29, at Bartow Arena in Birmingham.

UAB entered the game at 54 in the NCAA NET and improves to 11-2 overall and 2-0 in C-USA.

The Blazers shot 36.4 percent overall, only 12.5 percent from 3-point range (3-of-24) and were 28-for-38 at the charity stripe. Defensively, UAB held the Miners to 38.8 percent overall, 33.3 percent from beyond the arc, and forced 25 turnovers that resulted in 25 points.

However, UTEP dominated the interior with a plus-14 edge in rebounding.

Johnson finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds and was the catalyst for the Blazers in ramping up their intensity on both ends of the floor. Not only did Johnson spark the UAB rally, but he also gave the Blazers a 56-54 lead on a 3-pointer with 28.3 seconds remaining in the game.

The Miners jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first four minutes but UAB responded with its own 7-0 run to pull within a single point almost midway through the first half. UTEP pushed its lead back to as many as 9 points before the Blazers countered to enter the halftime break trailing 34-30.

Jordan “Jelly” Walker finished with a game-high 25 points, adding 4 assists, but was a paltry 7-for-26 overall and 2-of-15 from the beyond range. Eric Gaines also had a less-than-favorable performance, finishing with 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting while adding 4 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals.

UTEP opened the second half with an 11-4 run, building an 11-point lead at the 14:11 mark, but Johnson’s rebound scrum ignited a 9-0 run by the Blazers at the midpoint of the half. A quick 5-0 spurt by the Miners pushed their lead to 50-43 but UAB closed out regulation on a 14-7 run to tie the game at 57-all as Gaines made 1-of-3 free-throws with less than a second remaining.

Both teams battled early in the first overtime session until UTEP broke loose on a 9-2 run to take a 68-63 lead with 52 seconds left. A 3-pointer by Walker and a layup by Buffen in the final 30 seconds forced a second overtime session. The Blazers opened the final overtime period with a 4-0 run but allowed UTEP to cut the lead back down to a single point at the 2:55 mark.

UAB closed out the game on a 7-2 run to clinch the win with Walker scoring five of the Blazers’ final 7 points.

KJ Buffen finished with 15 points, 7 rebounds and 7 steals, and Trey Jemison had 7 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 steals. Tavin Lovan and Ty Brewer contributed 4 points each.

The Blazers close out their three-game conference home stand against UTSA, Saturday, Dec. 31, at Bartow Arena in Birmingham. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT on ESPN+.