Eric Gaines and Efrem “Butta” Johnson may have a little “Jelly” in them after throwing up go-ahead 3-pointers in the final minute of a back-and-forth affair.

A late blocking foul, however, sealed the Blazers’ fate in a 77-76 loss to Clemson, Friday, Nov. 10, in the Asheville Championship at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C.

UAB (0-2) shot 47 percent overall, 9-of-22 from 3-point range (41 percent) and 11-for-16 on free throws. The Blazers gave up 14 turnovers but dominated the battle of the boards — prior to Javian Davis and Yaxel Lendeborg fouling out midway through the second half — in earning a plus-13 edge in rebounding.

Trailing by as many as eight points in the first half, UAB rallied to take a 4-point lead off the effort of a 10-0 run and carried a 42-39 lead into the break on a pair of free throws from Davis and a dagger 3-pointer by Gaines.

The Blazers opened the second half with a 9-3 run and fought off a Clemson scoring burst with an 8-2 run to build a 67-58 lead with 7:01 remaining in the game.

Following his layup to maximize the UAB lead at nine points, Alejandro Vazquez fouled Ian Schieffelin on a dunk, resulting in a 3-point play and eventually a 14-0 Clemson run to retake a 72-67 lead at the final media timeout. Gaines and Jonnson hit two 3s to give UAB a 73-72 lead inside the final minutes but Celmson’s PJ Hall countered with a layup plus the harm to give the Tigers a 2-point advantage with 29 seconds left in the game.

Johnson once more stroked a 3-point shot to give the Blazers the lead but a blocking call on Shaver allowed Clemson to earn the win on a pair of free throws.

Gaines led UAB with a team-high 18 points on 7-for-17 shooting, and Johnson finished with 17 points. Davis and Lendeborg combined for 14 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out and Vasquez had 11 points. Tony Toney contributed six points.

The Blazers face Maryland in the Asheville Championship third-place game, Sunday, Nov. 12, at 11:30 a.m. CT on ESPN2.