FRISCO, Texas -- Jhivvan Jackson scored a game-high 35 points, but Zack Bryant had 18 of his 24 points in the second half to help UAB rally for an 85-76 victory over UTSA in the quarterfinal round of the 2019 Air Force Reserve Conference USA Championship on Thursday night at the Ford Center.
Jackson scored 21 of his points in the first half to help stake the Roadrunners (17-15) to a 12-point, first-half lead and a 42-35 advantage at the break, but the Blazers (20-13) outscored UTSA 50-34 behind a 50-percent shooting performance in the final 20 minutes to advance to the semifinals.
Jalen Perry (18), Lewis Sullivan (16) and Makhtar Gueye joined Bryant in double figures, while that quartet all grabbed at least six rebounds to help UAB register a 42-30 edge on the glass, including 17 offensive boards that were converted into 21 second-chance points.
The Blazers also got to the free-throw line, as they converted 25 of 34 (73.5%) at the charity stripe, and they made six of their eight trifectas after halftime.
Jackson notched the fourth 30-point game of his sophomore season and it marked the 23rd time he topped 20 points this year and for the 37th time in 58 career contests. The Puerto Rico native made five 3-pointers and drained 12 of 13 at the line to go along with six rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals.
Keaton Wallace added 12 points and three assists, while Atem Bior pulled down a team-best seven boards, but UTSA shot just 33.3 percent (11-33) and made only 2 of 15 from behind the 3-point line after halftime.
Making their third straight quarterfinal appearance, the Roadrunners shot 59.3 percent (16-27) and made seven of their nine 3-pointers in the opening stanza.
Wallace scored five early points and Jackson swished a pair of jumpers to help UTSA storm out of the gates to an 11-3 lead.
Adokiye Iyaye knocked down a corner trey at the 13:28 mark to push the advantage to double digits at 17-6.
The freshman from Oklahoma City connected again from long distance just before the shot clock buzzer went off to make it 22-11, but UAB climbed back into the game with nine unanswered points over a two-minute stretch, the last two on a fast-break layup by Bryant that pulled the Blazers within a pair with a little more than eight minutes left in the half.
With UTSA in front 30-27, Jackson scored eight consecutive points to send the lead back into double digits before a late 6-2 spurt by UAB helped create the seven-point halftime margin.
UAB used a 6-0 run early in the second half to cut the deficit to one at 47-46. After Nick Allen, who finished with seven points, gave UTSA a 51-47 lead, the Blazers knocked down back-to-back treys to kick-start an 8-0 stretch that pulled them into the lead for good.
Perry hit a three and a long jumper on consecutive possessions to cap a 9-2 run and help put UAB up 66-59 with 8:43 remaining.
The Blazers led by as many as 11 late in the contest before the Roadrunners used one final surge to get within 83-76 in the final minute.