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BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Ticker) -- Eric Bush scored seven of his 15 points in the final three minutes as UAB held off Louisiana-Lafayette, 82-80, in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.
Bush's 3-pointer with 2:52 remaining snapped a 73-73 tie and gave the Blazers (20-12) the lead for good. He hit a jumper to made it 78-73 with 2:08 left.
After the Ragin' Cajuns closed to 80-79 on Arthur Johnson's layup with 39 seconds left, Bush made another jumper to give UAB a three-point lead with nine seconds to go.
The Blazers did not give Lousiana-Lafayette a chance to attempt a possible game-tying 3-pointer as they fouled Brad Boyd with a second left.
Boyd, who scored 26 points, made the first free throw and missed the second intentionally, but Bush came up with a loose ball as time expired.
Gabe Kennedy scored 19 points and Morris Finley added 17 for UAB, which reached 20 wins for the 14th time in school history. The Blazers lost to Louisville on Saturday in the finals of the Conference USA tournament.
Johnson added 18 points for the Ragin' Cajuns (20-10), who ended the season with three straight losses. Louisiana-Lafayette became the first top seed in the Sun Belt Conference to lose in the first round of the conference tournament since 1983.
UAB will take on either Siena or Western Michigan in the second round.
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