The Crimson Tide drops a tightly-contested game that featured eight ties and seven lead changes
TUCSON, Ariz. ā The Alabama men's basketball team fell short against the Arizona Wildcats, 88-82, Saturday night at the McKale Center. Freshman
Collin Sexton led the offensive charge, scoring 30 points while shooting an impressive 15-of-16 from the free throw line.
Behind Sexton's performance, Alabama (7-3) shot a season-best 85.7 percent (24-of-28) from the line. The Crimson Tide connected on 38.7 percent (24-of-62) from the field and 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from beyond the arc. The Wildcats (7-3) finished with a big 43-30 advantage on the glass, including a 12-2 lead in second chance points.
Three other players joined Sexton in double figures. Junior
Donta Hall had another huge night, recording his second consecutive double-double and his third of the year, scoring 15 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Freshman
John Pettycontributed 13 points, while sophomore
Dazon Ingram added 10 to go along with seven rebounds and six assists without a turnover.
"Overall, I thought our effort was good," Alabama head coach
Avery Johnson said. "We showed effort and toughness pretty much throughout the game and I'm proud of our team from that standpoint. We didn't turn the ball over. We're coming off of a game where we had 24 turnovers and we did a much better job of taking care of the ball in a hostile environment. We have to rebound the ball better. When you shoot 38 percent from the field, you have to get more offensive rebounds."
The Wildcats' offense started to get into rhythm early in the contest. Leading 14-13, Arizona scored 10 unanswered points over a span of 2:45 to take a 24-13 lead. However, Alabama responded with a 13-2 offensive spurt to draw even at 26-26 with 7:10 left to play.
The Wildcats climbed back ahead, 38-33, with 1:47 left in the half, but the Tide was able to answer, as Sexton's banked three-pointer at the buzzer ended a 7-0 run and gave his team a 40-38 lead at the half.
Alabama scored six of the first eight points in the second half to finish off the 13-2 run that spanned halftime and increased its lead to 46-40 just under two minutes into the second stanza. It was the largest lead of the day by the Tide.
With Alabama clinging to a 58-53 lead with 12:28 remaining, Arizona went on a 9-2 run over the next 2:12 to regain the lead at 62-60 with 10:25 left. The Tide would draw even five different times over the next seven-plus minutes but would never regain the lead down the stretch.
With the score knotted at 76-76 with 3:18 left, the Wildcats went on a 8-1 run over the next two minutes and held on to collect their 45th consecutive non-conference home win.
Freshman center Deandre Ayton led Arizona throughout the night, finishing with 29 points and 18 rebounds in 36 minutes of action. Sophomore guard Allonzo Trier added 25 points and six assists.
Alabama will have a 10-day break between games for final exams. The Tide returns to action on Tuesday, Dec. 19, when it travels to Huntsville, Ala., to face the Mercer Bears for the second annual Rocket City Classic. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT and will be televised on SEC Network.
Tickets are going quickly for the Rocket City Classic, which looks to sell out for a second straight year. Fans can be purchase tickets for this year's event on Ticketmaster.com, or by contacting the Von Braun Center.
