Johnson’s late layup sends Alabama-Birmingham to 61-59 victory over Marshall

UAB beats Marshall 61-59

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Aaron Johnson dropped in a layup with 7 seconds remaining, lifting Alabama-Birmingham to a 61-59 win over Marshall on Saturday night.

Relying on free throws down the stretch due to a 7-minute span without a field goal, the Blazers lost the lead they’d held most of the game when Tyler Wilkerson pulled Marshall even at 59 on a layup with 1:41 left.

Both teams missed jumpers before UAB took a timeout to set up the final shot with 15 seconds left. After the timeout, the Blazers got the ball to Johnson and he got UAB the win.

Johnson also hit five free throws in the final 5 minutes for the Blazers (17-2, 5-0 Conference USA).

Howard Crawford led the Blazers with 19 points and Johnson finished with 11 — seven of those points coming on free throws.

Wilkerson paced the Thundering Herd (15-4, 4-1) with 18 points and Damier Pitts added 13.