Alabama
LSU
Alabama Basketball Drops Nail Biter to LSU, 60-54
2/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Chris Woodfin
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Despite holding LSU to 32.7 percent shooting, the Tiger's near perfect free throw shooting proved to be to much for the Crimson Tide as LSU (14-4, 4-3 SEC) hung on to defeat the University of Alabama men's basketball team (11-7, 3-4) 60-54 tonight at Coleman Coliseum. The game marked the first time the Tide has lost consecutive home games since the 1996-97 season.
The game was a close one with neither team holding more than a seven point lead the entire contest and was evenly played, however LSU held a 40-31 rebounding edge and hit 24 of 26 free throw attempts compared to the Tide's six of 11.
Still, the Tide was able to hang close, as Kennedy Winston gave Bama a 48-47 lead with 3:24 to play. But LSU went on a 6-0 run over the next three minutes which proved to be to big of a deficit for the Tide to overcome.
Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried was pleased with the Tide's defense but disappointed with the offensive game.
"Our defense was good tonight on both ends of the floor," Gottfried said. "We just couldn't generate enough offense. Kennedy Winston, I thought played well on both ends of the floor. We had a lot of good looks, late in the game, but we didn't step up and make those shots. Obviously if you don't make them, you are going to be in trouble."
Winston led the Tide with 23 points in 39 minutes of play. Also contributing for Alabama was Antoine Pettway with 12 points.
One bright spot for the Tide was the return of second leading scorer Earnest Shelton who had missed the previous two games due to injury. The junior was held scoreless in five minutes of play.
LSU was led by Brandon Bass and Jaime Lloreda who each had a double-double. Bass scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Lloreda scored 14 points and snared 11 boards. Antonio Hudson added 10 points for the Tigers.
Alabama returns to action Wednesday night as the Tide hits the road to take on South Carolina in Columbia. Tip-off for the contest is set for 6:30 p.m. CST. The game can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network.
