UAB sophomore Tony Toney has become well-acquainted with a certain conference rival this season. So much so that all three of his made 3-point attempts have come against that same team in two games this season.

“The ball came to me, I shot it and it went in,” Toney said. “Trust in your work and it’ll come.”

Unfortunately, it may be over as soon as it started with the regular-season series in the rear-view mirror and UAB heading to a new conference next season.

Toney, along with Eric Gaines, ignited a dominant second-half defense as the Blazers rallied for a 65-59 win over Louisiana Tech, Thursday, Jan. 26, at Bartow Arena in Birmingham.

“Nothing wrong with winning and it feels good to win,” UAB head coach Andy Kennedy said. “I don’t think they’ll ship that to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame for a display but we’ll take it. We needed a win.”

UAB entered the game at 82 in the NCAA NET, 79 in KenPom, and improves to 14-7 overall and 5-5 in C-USA with the regular-season sweep of the Bulldogs in what was the final regular-season meeting scheduled between the two programs.

Jordan “Jelly” Walker, the nation’s second-leading scorer (23.8 ppg), was not available for a fourth straight game due to a foot injury.

The Blazers shot 41.5 percent overall, 25 percent from 3-point range (4-of-16), and were 17-for-30 at the charity stripe. Defensively, UAB held the Bulldogs to 33.9 percent from the field, 33.3 percent on 3-pointers, and forced 14 turnovers that resulted in 17 points.

“Guys played hard,” Kennedy said. “Defensively, it was as good as we have been. The 1-3-1 was very helpful to us, held them under 60 points and made enough shots.”

Toney finished with 11 points and 3 rebounds, along with a block and steal, and all three of his 3-pointers this season have come against the Bulldogs, including a late game-tying shot at LA Tech. He helped jumpstart a 14-6 run that UAB used to expand its lead by as many as 9 points late in the second half.

“We had the right guy shooting the right ball,” Kennedy said. “Tony Toney. Boy, he likes LA Tech. He made all of his 3-pointers against them and big ones too. His energy helped us on both sides of the ball.”

Eric Gaines had a team-high 19 points, adding 6 assists and 3 steals, and scored 16 of his points in the second half.

The Blazers fell behind early, 16-10, while enduring a 3:04 scoring drought almost midway through the first half, but responded with a 14-8 run to pull within a single possession with less than four minutes remaining. UAB went 2-of-4 from the field in the final five minutes but held the Bulldogs scoreless for the final 2:33 of the opening period.

“It’s such a grind when you don’t make shots,” Kennedy said. “You hate to talk about it all the time but here I am talking about it. We’re just not making shots.”

KJ Buffen earned his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and snaring 13 rebounds with 2 blocks, and Trey Jemison had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. Ledarrius Brewer finished with 9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, and Javian Davis had 3 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals.

Brewer and Jemison combined for 7 points during an 11-2 second-half run that saw UAB retake the lead for the first time since the first minute of the game.

“The way Louisiana Tech plays, they’re sitting four guys in the paint and double the post every time,” Kennedy said. “When Trey is double-teamed like that, KJ did a good job of finding spots and finishing for us.”

The Blazers hit the road to face Rice, Saturday, Jan. 28, at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT on ESPN+.