Without a functioning central-heating system in the arena and only two officials on hand to observe and report, it was bound to get a little weird down south along the border.

Giving up one turnover less than its season-high should have signified doom for the UAB men’s basketball team, but sheer will and hot shooting heating up the floor were more than enough to compensate for a few cold, loose fingertips.

The Blazers put on an impressive shooting display with five players in double figures as they earned a 79-66 victory over UTEP, Thursday, Feb. 16, at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas.

“I got my blood pressure up, I was actually sweating,” UAB head coach Andy Kennedy told David Crane on Blazer Sportsline postgame. “That tells you how aggravated I was with some of our decision-making. The turnovers are one thing, they (UTEP) had 16 steals. They were plus-20 points off turnovers and yet we won a road game.”

UAB entered the game at 68 in the NCAA NET and improves to 19-8 overall and 10-6 in C-USA — winning 6 of the last 7 games — after earning the regular-season sweep of the Miners.

The Blazers shot 52.9 percent from both the field and beyond the arc (9-of-17) and were 16-for-19 at the charity stripe. They owned a plus-14 advantage on inside scoring and turned around a minus-7 showing on the glass in the first half to a plus-7 overall edge in rebounding.

However, UAB also gave up 21 turnovers that resulted in 34 points for the Miners.

“To overcome that,” Kennedy posited. “You got to shoot 53 percent from the floor. Check. You got to shoot 84 percent from the free-throw line. Check. You got to make 53 percent of your 3-pointers. Check. We were down 7 (rebounds) at the half and end up plus-7, so we’re plus-14 in the second half off the glass.”

“That’s how you overcome 21 turnovers,” he added.

Jordan “Jelly” Walker finished with a game-high 22 points, followed by Eric Gaines with 10 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. KJ Buffen added 10 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals.

All three combined for 14 of UAB’s turnovers.

“We got casual and passive into the first half, giving them pick-6s,” Kennedy said. “It is mind-numbing. We had 10 out of our starting backcourt.”

Ledarrius Brewer had 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, and Ty Brewer continued his strong play with 11 points and 4 rebounds. Trey Jemison finished with 3 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks, followed by Javian Davis with 6 points and 8 rebounds, and Tony Toney contributed 4 points and 2 rebounds.

“Looking at that 5-spot, I do not play Trey and him (Davis) together,” Kennedy said. “Trust me, I have thought about ways in which to do it but we haven’t gone in that direction, yet. We have 9 points and 16 big rebounds between Trey and JD.”

“The Brewer boys stepped up and made shots for us,” he added. “Very efficient night for them.”

Both teams started off shooting 50 percent from the field but the Blazers hit a 7-0 run to take a 16-11 lead while holding UTEP scoreless for more than two minutes. UAB hit another long run midway through the opening half, building a 30-19 lead with 6:11 remaining.

The Blazers did not score in the last 2:08 of the first half, or make a field goal in the final 3:17, and UTEP closed out with an 8-0 run to pull within 36-34 entering the halftime break.

UAB opened the second frame with an 8-2 run and eventually stretch the lead to double-digits on an 8-0 run after the Miners trimmed the lead to 44-43 at the 15:32 mark of the half. The Blazers extended the run to 15-2, taking a 14-point lead midway through the period, and built as much as a 16-point lead on a Tony Toney dunk with 14 seconds remaining in the game.

“Great win,” Kennedy said. “Anytime you can come on the road, in a building as storied as this, under these circumstances, and win that game by 13 points and lead it for 36 minutes, you’ll take it and move on.”

The Blazers finish off their Texas road trip against UTSA, Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Convocation Center in San Antonio. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT on Stadium.