Crawford Helps UAB Knock Off Georgia 72-56

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Howard Crawford scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half to help Alabama-Birmingham defeat Georgia 72-56 on Saturday night.

The Blazers (4-1) fell behind 3-0 in the opening minute, then scored 12 consecutive points and never trailed again. UAB was aided by six Georgia turnovers in under 4 minutes.

The Blazers built a 23-6 lead barely 7 minutes into the game before Georgia (1-2) rallied with an 11-0 run to close the gap to 23-17. UAB responded with 10 consecutive points on the way to a 35-22 halftime score and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

Crawford sank three 3-pointers in the second half and Jamarr Sanders scored 13 of his 16 points after halftime.

Dustin Ware led Georgia with 17 points and Jeremy Price added 13. Trey Thompkins, who entered the game averaging a team-best 19.5 points per game, managed only four points on 2-for-11 shooting.