McNeese State basketball coach Will Wade is two games away from completing a 10-game suspension for rules violations when he was at LSU but his current team gave a “strong-ass” effort against home-standing UAB.

The Blazers held a slim halftime lead before collapsing in the second half of an 81-60 loss to McNeese State, Tuesday, Nov. 28, at Bartow Arena in Birmingham.

“I’ve been a head coach for (at least) 510 games, I have never walked off a court more embarrassed than I just did,” UAB head coach Andy Kennedy said. “I’ve been beaten worse and taking nothing away from McNeese State. They came in and did exactly what we thought they would do.”

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UAB (4-3) shot 29.7 percent overall, 16 percent (4-of-25) from 3-point range and was 18-of-25 at the charity stripe. The Blazers allowed 19 points off 10 turnovers and lost the battle in the interior as McNeese State owned a plus-2 edge in rebounding and a plus-8 advantage on inside scoring.

“We play through contact almost as much as anyone in college basketball,” Kennedy said. “It’s a balance thing and we’re completely off balance. We travel into traffic without a plan of execution. We are driving into contested areas without a plan of execution and we think we’re going to figure it out on the way.”

The Cowboys were 49.2 percent from the field and 53 percent (10-of-19) on 3-pointers. Shahada Wells, a former TCU and UT-Arlington transfer, finished with a game-high 36 points, along with six rebounds and three blocks, and Antavion Collum had 20 points. Christian Shumate had a game-high 21 rebounds.

“Wells completely took the game over,” Kennedy said. “Shumate, talk about effort. Against Division I opponents, they blocked six or seven shots in four games and blocked eight of ours because we’re soft at that basket. We’ve got to own it, try to learn from it and get better.”

The Blazers fell behind early but broke off an 8-2 run to take a 15-11 lead almost midway through the opening half. McNeese State went cold from the field for 4:46 and UAB built as much as an 8-point lead with 8:24 left in the frame.

A quick 6-0 spurt from the Cowboys cut the UAB advantage to two points and a 7-2 run ignited by Wells gave McNeese State a 28-27 lead inside the final two minutes. Christian Coleman and Daniel Ortiz combined on two pairs of free throws and Wells scored to trim the halftime deficit to a single point.

Efrem “Butta” Johnson opened the second half with a made mid-range jumper, giving UAB a 33-30 lead, but McNeese State responded with an 11-2 run to reclaim the lead for good. The Blazers cut the lead back down to two possessions midway through the final half but allowed a 16-3 game-sealing run by the Cowboys, who held UAB to one made field goal in the final eight minutes.

“We’re going to watch this one, brother,” Kennedy said. “Usually you learn and burn in 48 hours. We’ll get into this. They have to see it. We have to be laser-focused and we’re not. Either you coach it or allow it and I must be allowing it.”

Ortiz scored a team-high 20 points, followed by Eric Gaines with eight points. Alejandro Vasquez, Tony Toney and Johnson all had six points each. Javian Davis added five points and 11 rebounds, and Yaxel Lendeborg had four points and eight rebounds before fouling out late.

The Blazers return to action against former CUSA rival Southern Miss, Friday, Dec. 1, at Bartow Arena in Birmingham. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+.