Men's Basketball Survives Scare to Top Bulldogs 65-59
1/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Men's Basketball Survives Scare to Top Bulldogs 65-59
Saturday, January 28, 2006
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By Kyle Murphy, UA Media Relations
TUSCALOOSA ?? Despite a poor shooting night, the Alabama Crimson Tide survived a late scare from SEC West rival Mississippi State Bulldogs to notch a 65-59 win and improve its conference record to 4-2.
Alabama shot only 38% (19-for-50) from the field, but still pulled away with the win thanks to a big night from freshman Richard Hendrix, who had a double-double with 22 points and 16 total rebounds. Hendrix was 7-for-10 from the field and 8-for-13 from the free throw line. The 22 points was the highest total for Hendrix since the December 27 game against Jackson State where the freshman had 23 points.
The Tide also had two other players in double figures. Jermareo Davidson had 14 points and was 4-for-7 from the field. Ronald Steele added 11 points for Bama.
Alabama went into the locker room at the half with a 31-21 lead, but Mississippi State opened the second half with a 25-16 run and took its first lead of the game with 7:14 left on the game clock. The Crimson Tide would turn the momentum in its favor after Jean Felix hit a three-pointer with 5:16 left in the game to take a 55-50 lead. A couple of clutch plays down low by Hendrix and Davidson would all but seal the deal for the Tide.
"It wasn't a shooting clinic today," said Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried, "but the bottom line is we won.
"I am proud of our guys, they played hard. Mississippi State gave us some match-up problems with their small lineup. Richard (Hendrix) and Jermareo (Davidson) were doing such a good job that we decided to leave them in there. I am proud of Richard. He scored 22 points and got 16 boards. I thought our entire team rebounded really well."
The Tide (11-7, 4-2 SEC) will travel to Athens, Georgia on Wednesday night for a midweek SEC battle with the Georgia Bulldogs at 6:30 p.m. Bama returns to Coleman Coliseum Saturday as they play host to the LSU Tigers at noon. The Tigers won the previous battle this season with a 68-57 loss in Baton Rouge.
