February 18, 2015
Alabama earns sweep of Auburn
Cecil Hurt
AUBURN | After Alabama's last-second win over Auburn last month, many experts guaranteed that the rematch would be a different story.
And it was. This time, it wasn't close.
Alabama poured in 46 second-half points and pulled away from the Tigers, 79-68, completing the season sweep and raising coach Anthony Grant's record against the Tigers to 9-3 in his UA tenure.
The Crimson Tide took the lead for good with 15:19 to play, as Rodney Cooper scored on a 3-point play to put UA ahead, 48-46, and ignite a 7-0 run. UA shot 60 percent in the second half and led by as many as 13 points down the stretch.
Levi Randolph led the Crimson Tide with 19 points and Retin Obasohan, back after a hand injury, had a breakout game with 16.
"I was really proud of our team," Alabama coach Anthony Grant said. "We showed a lot of heart and I am especially glad for our seniors, Levi and Coop. These guys every single night do what I ask them to do.
"Retin comes every single night with great effort, and he was ready for the opportunity tonight."
Grant drew his first technical foul of the year in the first half, but even that seemed to be effective.
"I didn't think I deserved it, but these guys really rallied around me, calmed me down," Grant said. "I was proud of how we responded."
"We just stressed to come out with great energy and effort and that's what we did," Randolph said. "Another thing we stress is rebounding, and that came down to the way we practiced."
Alabama got off to a solid start, shooting well and building a lead as large as six points when Shannon Hale hit a 3-pointer with 6:31 remaining in the first half. The Crimson Tide offense slowed, though, largely due to turnovers. Auburn, powered by Antoine Mason's scoring, ended the half on a 16-7 run and took a 36-33 lead at the half.
But the Tigers had no defensive answer for Alabama in the second half.
"It starts with me," said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. "We didn't have a good game plan. It was as bad as we have played in a while and Alabama had something to play. They're very athletic, very strong and they were a hard matchup for us.
"It's a game that sticks with you all summer long that we weren't able to beat them."
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