Howard Crawford scored 12 points and Alabama-Birmingham held off Middle Tennessee down the stretch for a 65-64 victory on Wednesday night. The Blazers (7-1) won their sixth consecutive game by outscoring the Blue Raiders 6-5 in the last 34 seconds after the teams were tied at 59. George Drake hit two free throws and Crawford scored on a layup for a 64-59 lead with 17 seconds left. Middle Tennessee's Theryn Hudson dunked to cut the lead to 64-61 before Aaron Johnson hit a foul shot for a 65-61 advantage with 10 seconds to play. James Washington nailed a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left, ending the scoring. UAB, which is off to its best start since the 1998-99 team was 7-1, was 12-for-21 (57.1 percent) in the second half. Drake and Kenneth Cooper added 11 points each for the Blazers. Montarrio Haddock led Middle Tennessee (3-4) with 17 points and Hudson had 12.
