Trailing by three points early in the second half, UAB forward Christian Coleman read an errant pass and split two opponents for an easy steal.

With nothing opposing him but open court, the 6-foot-9, 200-pound junior went coast-to-coast for an epic slam to ignite a second-half fury that could melt the ice from every road in the state.

The Blazers never led in the first half but leaned on their big men in the second for a 69-61 victory over East Carolina, Saturday, Jan. 20, at Bartow Arena in Birmingham.

“That was the epitome of a conference game in mid-January in sub-degree weather — both teams acting like they were playing with mittens on,” UAB head coach Andy Kennedy said. “Not always going to play your best, we certainly did not do that, but we played tough. For the first 25-28 minutes, East Carolina was, by far, the tougher team. In the last 7-8 minutes, we were the tougher team and as a result, we got out with a much-needed win.”

UAB (12-6, 4-1 AAC) entered the game at 158 in the NCAA NET rankings and has won eight of its last nine games.

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The Blazers shot 43.1 percent overall and were 5-of-15 on 3-pointers and 14-of-18 at the charity stripe. UAB forced 16 turnovers, resulting in 21 points, held the Pirates to 36.7 percent from the field and split the battle of the interior with a plus-6 advantage on inside scoring.

During a crucial stretch in the second half, UAB held the Pirates without a field goal for 8:29 before Brandon Johnson snapped the drought on a layup with a little more than two minutes left in the game.

“We continue to get better defensively and defensively is where the game was won,” Kennedy said. “That and some toughness plays, timely shots and made free throws down the stretch.”

Davis had 14 points on 7-of-10 from the field and added nine rebounds and a block and a steal. The senior had his best outing of the conference slate and bookended a 13-1 run — that saw the Blazers take their first lead of the game — to power UAB ahead for a 58-52 advantage with 3:55 remaining.

“I’m pretty happy right now with my performance, given that I started conference play not playing at the level I’m capable of being,” Davis said. “Good thing Yaxel came into his own, putting up great numbers and having my back. Today I was ecstatic with my performance and glad I could help the team with both my offense and defense.”

“This game is kind of what I’m used to coming from the SEC,” he added. “I was excited about playing real physical and gives me a lot of confidence. Today is step one of getting back on track and hopefully carries over to Charlotte.”

Eric Gaines had a game-high 17 points, along with seven rebounds, eight assists and two steals, followed by Christian Coleman finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

After scoring 11 points in the first half, Gaines did not reach the rim again until slipping through a small sliver for a slam late in the game and made 4-of-4 free throws in the final minute, following a 3-pointer from Efrem “Butta” Johnson, to secure the win for the Blazers.

“The timeliness of some of the shots, none bigger than Butta’s three,” Kennedy said. “EG, great finishes inside and made his free throws. Had eight assists and one turnover and the only reason, quite frankly, we were in the game for the majority of it.”

Meanwhile, Coleman was the physical spark the Blazers needed and turned momentum early in the second half with a steal and a run-out dunk on the other end to cut the East Carolina lead to a single point.

“Yax had a very unlike-Yax day, especially with the way he’s been playing as of lot,” Kennedy said. “We typically play a three-man post rotation and Chris stepped up in a huge way.”

The Pirates jumped out to a 10-2 lead after a rough offensive start from both teams and did not trail despite UAB tying the game at 19-all with 7:02 left in the opening frame. East Carolina rebuilt an eight-point lead at the 2:30 mark but the Blazers closed out the half on a 5-0 spurt to cut the halftime deficit to three entering the break.

Although UAB was able to cut the lead down to one point twice in the first five minutes of the second half, the Pirates were able to hold a two-possession advantage until Davis jumpstarted a run that included triples from both Yaxel Lendeborg and Daniel Ortiz. The Blazers allowed a late run but closed out the second half with a 3-pointer from Johnson and six consecutive free-throws from Gaines and Lendeborg.

“Execution is the key to life,” Kennedy said. “Everybody has ideas, hopes and aspirations, but who can execute and get it done? When you get to this point in the season, people are going to know your actions. We did a better job of that in the second half.”

Alejandro Vasquez had nine points and three rebounds, Ortiz had eight points and Johnson added six points. Lendeborg got into foul trouble early and finished with only five points, three rebounds and three blocks.

The Blazers hit the road to face Charlotte, Tuesday, Jan. 23, at Dale F. Halton Arena. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+.