The first five games of the season for the UAB basketball team have all been one-possession affairs but no longer after putting the finishing touches on a two-possession decision.

The Blazers fought off a fierce second-half rally and pulled away late for a 92-86 victory over reigning SoCon regular season and tournament champion Furman, Saturday, Nov. 25, at Bartow Arena in Birmingham.

“We certainly could not get stops but it’s the best we’ve played offensively,” UAB head coach Andy Kennedy said. “So much respect for the program that Bob (Richey) has established at Furman, won 28 games last year and beat Virginia in the NCAA tournament and have a handful of those guys back.”

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UAB (4-2) was 58.6 percent from the field, 5-of-13 (38.5 percent) from 3-point range and 19-of-23 at the charity stripe. The Blazers scored 24 points off 13 turnovers, matched Furman with 30 rebounds each and won the battle in the interior with a plus-20 advantage on inside scoring.

Yaxel Lendeborg logged his first career double-double, producing a career-high 19 points and 10 rebounds, and had five blocks and two steals. The junior college transfer ignited a 13-2 first-half run, allowing the Blazers to build a 40-31 lead, and was instrumental in powering UAB on a 17-4 run to expand its advantage to nine points late in the second half.

“Yaxel had his best day as a Blazer,” Kennedy said. “He was tremendous for us and made a couple of big foul shots down the stretch.”

Javian Davis finished with 17 points, six rebounds and three assists, but fouled out with less than five minutes remaining. He scored 15 of his total points in the first half but played only seven minutes in the second half due to foul trouble.

“JD was very, very good,” Kennedy said. “Unfortunately, he picks up the three boom-boom-boom fouls and fouls out of the game.”

Eric Gaines had 13 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals, and Alejandro Vasquez had 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. Daniel Ortiz contributed 10 points, followed by Tony Toney with nine points, Efrem “Butta” Johnson with eight points and Christian Coleman with four points.

The Blazers jumped out to a 4-point lead at the first media timeout but Furman hit 9-of-10 straight shots to take a 29-27 advantage with 8:48 remaining in the first half. Lendeborg jumpstarted a 13-2 run to retake the lead and Vasquez and Christian Coleman combined on the final eight UAB points for a 52-44 edge entering the break.

Furman opened the second half on a 6-0 run to cut the lead down to two points and built as much as a 4-point lead with 7:L25 remaining on a 13-6 run that included two 3-point fouls on the Blazers. UAB responded with a 17-4 run to rebuild its 9-point advantage and clinched the win on a pair of made free throws from Lendeborg and Gaines, despite not making a field goal in the final 2:25.

“Defensively, they were back-cutting us, we had some communication issues,” Kennedy said. “The last four minutes of the game we went small, it hurt us some on the glass, but it allowed us to stay attached to their shooters.”

The Blazers return to action against McNeese State, Tuesday, Nov. 28, at Bartow Arena in Birmingham. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+.