An early conference matchup of epic proportions, pitting the UAB basketball team against the aged and experienced Owls of FAU, provided everything that was billed, and perhaps a little more, inside a cramped gymnasium on the north side of the Miami shoreline.

The Blazers rallied from a double-digit deficit in the first half but could not belay a fierce finish in an 88-86 loss to FAU, Thursday, Jan. 5, at FAU Arena in Boca Raton, Florida.

“I guess time will tell (if these two teams are the best in the league),” UAB head coach Andy Kennedy said. “Our guys came in and, initially, the speed of FAU had us on our heels a little bit. We adjusted pretty quickly. The way in which we closed the half and the way we closed the game, for a team that is as experienced as we are, is a little disappointing.”

“FAU was a top-40 ranked defensive team and you score 86 points, shoot 50 percent from the floor, don’t turn it over, but you get crushed on the glass,” he added. “That was really the key to the game. I’m not sure we’ve won a game this year where we’ve been outrebounded.”

UAB entered the game at 60 in the NCAA NET, 51 in KenPom, and drops to 12-3 overall and 3-1 in C-USA with its Quad-1 loss to the Owls, who were 11 in the NET.

FAU’s Johnell Davis, who was averaging 9.3 points and 40 percent from 3-point range, exploded for a game-high 36 points on 11-of-17 shooting, 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and 10-of-11 on free throws, and added six rebounds to match his season average (5.2).

“Completely controlled the game,” Kennedy said. “When they needed a basket, they went to him. He got big basket after big basket. Credit to that kid.”

The Blazers shot 47.7 percent overall, 50 percent from 3-point range (10-for-20) and were 12-for-18 at the charity stripe. Defensively, UAB allowed the Owls to shoot 49.2 percent overall, 35.7 percent from beyond the arc, and own the interior with a plus-9 edge in rebounding and plus-4 advantage on inside scoring.

Jordan “Jelly” Walker was held to only 5 points in the first half but finished with a team-high 21 points on 6-of-17 shooting, while adding 2 rebounds and 2 assists with 3 turnovers. Despite scoring less than his average, Walker maintains his status as the nation’s leading scorer (24.9 ppg).

Meanwhile, Eric Gaines had 15 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists, but fouled FAU twice in the final three minutes and was 1-for-3 on free throws. Walker and Gaines combined for six of UAB’s nine turnovers.

“It’s hard to pace with these two guys, they’re going to go,” Kennedy said. “I either have to accept it, enhance it, or I have to change. Schematically, we got some ideas, but ultimately it comes down to making basketball decisions in real-time.”

Javian Davis finished with 15 points and 4 rebounds and jumpstarted UAB’s first-half rally with 7 points during a 13-2 run that gave the Blazers their first lead since the first minute of the game.

“He (Davis) was using his big body,” Kennedy said. “We were in foul trouble early with KJ and Trey.”

The Blazers fell behind 18-8 early in the first half but Davis’ contributions on the game-changing run, almost midway through the opening frame, enabled UAB to take a 21-20 lead at the 7:51 mark. A 3-pointer from Ledarrius Brewer gave the Blazers a 39-35 lead with 1:28 remaining but FAU hit a 6-0 run to take a 41-39 lead in the final 30 seconds of the first half.

Gaines tied the game at 41-all on a jumper with five seconds before the break.

FAU forged ahead to a 53-50 lead in the first four minutes of the second half but Walker nailed his second 3-pointer of the game to ignite a 12-2 run that resulted in UAB’s largest lead of the game, 62-55, with 11:58 remaining in the game. The Owls responded with an 18-7 run, taking a 73-69 lead, but Gaines jumpstarted a 13-3 run to put the Blazers back ahead by six points with less than four minutes left.

Similar to its win at North Texas, where FAU held the Mean Green scoreless while closing out on a 13-0 run, the Owls finished on a 12-4 run while UAB struggled to finish 2-of-6 from the field.

“At the end, as a coach, you spend most of your time in good ol’ man-to-man,” Kennedy said. “We were up six, Jelly had hit a couple of shots, KJ and Trey with the defensive rebound, fighting each other (for it), and FAU picks it up and shoots it in. It was a huge swing and then Johnell Davis, again, put us on his back and drove us where he wanted.”

Trey Jemison and KJ Buffen got in early foul trouble and did not have the effect on the interior as fully intended. Jemison finished with 9 points and a single rebound and Buffen had 5 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.

Efrem “Butta” Johnson had 8 points and 2 rebounds and Ty Brewer had 4 points and 2 rebounds. Ledarrius Brewer returned from a three-game hiatus, due to a hand injury, and finished with 9 points, 3-of-4 on 3-pointers, along with 7 rebounds.

The Blazers finish off their two-game conference road split against FIU, Saturday, Jan. 7, at Ocean Bank Convocation Center in Miami, Florida. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+.