Hollingsworth's 22 pts lead W. Kentucky past UAB 98-70

Mar 9, 2018, 05:18 am

FRISCO, Texas -- Taveion Hollingsworth scored 22 points to lead five players in double figures and third-seeded Western Kentucky beat No. 6 seed UAB 98-70 in a Conference USA Tournament quarterfinal game Thursday night.

The Hilltoppers (23-9) advance to play second-seeded Old Dominion in a semifinal game Friday. Western Kentucky thoroughly avenged a 101-73 beating at the hands of the Blazers on March 3 to end the regular season.

Darius Thomas scored 20, Justin Johnson and Lamonte Bearden each scored 19 and Johnson grabbed 10 rebounds. Josh Anderson scored 10, Western Kentucky shot 37 of 62 (59.7 percent) from the field and 19 of 22 from the foul line.

After Chris Cokley's 3-pointer put UAB ahead 33-30 with 4:42 before halftime, the Hilltoppers went on a 16-2 run to close the half and stayed ahead the rest of the way. Johnson's layup with 11:47 left extended the lead to 70-50.

Zack Bryant led the Blazers (20-13) with 16 points, Nate Darling scored 12, Cokley and William Lee scored 12 each and Lewis Sullivan added 10.