BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Chris Cokley came off the Alabama-Birmingham bench to score 19 points and grab a half-dozen rebounds as the Blazers beat Florida Atlantic 79-59 on Thursday night.

William Lee had 17 points and had 11 rebounds for the Blazers, scoring his 1,000th career point.

UAB moved into a tie with Marshall, which lost to Rice 89-88, for sixth place in Conference USA with one game left — a home date with Florida International.

Nick Rutherford hit 2 of 3 from the line to cut the Blazers’ halftime margin to 42-33, but UAB quickly pushed lead back into double digits where it stayed for most of the second half.

UAB (16-14, 9-8) shot 31 of 54 from the field (57.4 percent), including 5 of 10 from 3-point range. The Blazers dominated the boards, grabbing 41 while limiting the Owls to 25.

Adonis Filer scored 15 points and had three steals to lead Florida Atlantic (10-18, 6-11).

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