Cecil Hurt
TideSports.com Columnist
The University of Alabama basketball team came out with a foot on the accelerator Tuesday night, and ran over South Florida in the process.
The Crimson Tide never trailed in an 82-71 win that saw four Crimson Tide players score in double figures.
The victory lifted Alabama to 5-1 on the season and avenged a one-point loss against USF in Tampa last season.
Rodney Cooper led a balanced UA scoring attack with 20 points, while Ricky Tarrant, making his first career start for Alabama, had 17. Levi Randolph added 14 points for UA, with Justin Coleman coming off the bench to score 11.
Alabama jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead and never trailed, building its first half lead to as many as 15 points, 43-28, before USF scored two unanswered baskets in the final minute of the half to trim the Crimson Tide advantage to 43-32.
UA built its lead to as many as 19 points in the second half, but after a Cooper layup gave Alabama a 66-47 lead with seven minutes remaining, USF went on a 16-5 run to get back into the game, cutting the Alabama edge to 71-63 with 3:53 to play. But UA put the game away with a 10-1 run.
The only drama in the final minutes came when Randolph made his 38th consecutive free throw, one shy of the school record, then rimmed out his potential tying attempt.
Corey Allen led South Florida with 16 points. The Bulls shot 50 percent from the floor, but were hindered by 21 turnovers.
Alabama will be back in action on Saturday, playing its first true road game of the season against Xavier in Cincinnati.
UA guard Retin Obasohan did not play in the contest due to an ankle injury.
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