Alabama Basketball: Crimson Tide tumbles in T-Town

Alabama basketball fought hard to take down LSU in Tuscaloosa but came up short, fading down the stretch in a tough 74-69 loss.

LSU was too much for Alabama basketball Saturday in Tuscaloosa. After an early 7-0 deficit fueled by empty possessions, the Tide gained its composure and fought back hard the rest of the way. The Alabama Crimson Tide led by six points twice in the game, the last time at the 10:38 point of the second half.

John Petty led the Crimson Tide in scoring with 23 points. Petty was tremendous in a late, first half, scoring spurt, scoring 11 points in a five-minute span. Along with a three by Herbert Jones and baskets by Kira Lewis and Riley Norris, Petty’s burst turned an 11-point LSU lead to just one point at halftime.

In the second half, LSU led by just one point with 1:33 left in the contest. The Bengal Tigers finished with 10 points aided by two Crimson Tide turnovers. Alabama basketball countered with six points on two threes from John Petty.

The game was one Alabama basketball could have won. In fairness to LSU, it was not a game the Crimson Tide should have won. LSU is the better team. The Bengal Tigers are good enough to make some real noise in the NCAA Tournament. They value possessions and rarely take bad shots. They can get the ball into the paint off the dribble and when they do, they usually finish.

Opponents being soft in ball possession get it swiped by LSU. They did it to the Tide nine times on Saturday. The Tide got one steal. And they rebound well, as evident by beating the Tide on the boards 48-40.

There were encouraging signs for Alabama basketball in the loss. Avery Johnson twice changed the game positively for the Crimson Tide. A switch to a zone defense was very effective in the first half. His technical foul appeared to inject more fight into his team.

Riley Norris struggled outside the arc, hitting only 1-for-5 but was exceptional in every other way. He fought hard throughout scoring 13 points and pulling down nine rebounds. His emotional play lifted his teammates. Two more Tide players had strong games. Donta Hall scored 14 points and added 10 rebounds. Herbert Jones scored 13 points while adding three rebounds and five assists.

An ailing Dazon Ingram was ineffective as was a healthy Tevin Mack. Combined they were 0-for-7 in 25 minutes of play. Kira Lewis struggled in shot selection and scoring. The youngster was 3-for-16 but did add four rebounds and four assists.

Going 13-for-23 out the foul line hurt the Tide. LSU was not much better at 14-for-22. The big differences in the game were the steals and rebounding edges for LSU and the Tigers being plus-10 points in the paint. LSU made a lot of dribble drive shots. Alabama missed too many.

What now for the Big Dance? The Tide will be fine if it beats Auburn on Tuesday. Lose to the Tigers and wins against Arkansas on the road and two SEC Tournament opponents will be needed.