BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Dirk Williams sank four 3-pointers and scored 19 points to lead Alabama-Birmingham past Marshall 95-91 on Thursday night and give the Blazers a two-game advantage atop the Conference USA.

Nick Norton added 17 points, Chris Cokley had 16 and Robert Brown 13 for UAB (23-5, 13-2), which shot 47 percent and had 19 assists to go with its 31 field goals. William Lee collected 10 rebounds to go with nine points.

Tied 49-49 at the break, Lee put UAB on top for good with a 3-pointer that made it 78-76 with 5:32 left. Marshall (15-13, 11-4) twice sliced the gap to a single point in the final three minutes before Williams sparked a 6-2 burst with a 3-pointer to pad the advantage 91-87 with 18 seconds left. Hakeem Baxter and Nick Norton sealed it from the free-throw line.

Stevie Browning’s 23 points led five Marshall players in double figures.

UAB 95, MARSHALL 91

MARSHALL (15-13)

Kelly 3-7 4-4 12, Taylor 9-18 0-1 19, Browning 9-14 2-2 23, Elmore 6-14 6-7 19, Loop 0-5 0-0 0, Thompson 2-9 1-2 6, Burks 5-10 0-0 12. Totals 34-77 13-16 91.

UAB (23-5)

Mehinti 3-4 2-4 8, Lee 3-7 2-3 9, Baxter 2-5 3-4 8, Norton 5-9 5-6 17, Brown 5-18 0-0 13, Watts 0-4 1-2 1, Cokley 5-9 6-8 16, Williams 6-7 3-3 19, Madison 1-1 0-0 2, Sullivan 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 31-66 22-30 95.

Halftime-Tied 49-49. 3-Point Goals-Marshall 10-34 (Browning 3-6, Kelly 2-5, Burks 2-5, Thompson 1-2, Taylor 1-3, Elmore 1-8, Loop 0-5), UAB 11-24 (Williams 4-4, Brown 3-8, Norton 2-5, Baxter 1-1, Lee 1-3, Watts 0-3). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-Marshall 38 (Kelly, Taylor 9), UAB 46 (Lee 10). Assists-Marshall 16 (Elmore 7), UAB 19 (Brown 5). Total Fouls-Marshall 18, UAB 14. A-7,190.