Alabama Downs Southern Miss in Coors Classic, 77-64
12/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -Jermareo Davidson dominated in his return to No. 9 Alabama's lineup, scoring 25 points and flirting with a triple double in a 77-64 victory over Southern Mississippi on Saturday night.
Davidson had 11 rebounds and a career-high nine blocked shots to just miss becoming only the second Crimson Tide player to record a triple double - Roy Rogers did it twice in a one-week span in 1996.
Alonzo Gee added 20 points for Alabama (9-1), Richard Hendrix had 11 and Justin Tubbs 10. Davidson was 8-of-13 from the field and 9-of-12 on free throws.
Southern Miss (7-1) was off to its best start since also opening 7-0 in the 1985-86 season and had won its first seven games - all at home - by an average of 25 points.
The Golden Eagles trailed by as many as 20 points in the final five minutes but cut it to 69-61 on a drive by Sai'Quon Stone with 1:04 left.
But Gee caught a long pass from Hendrix for a quick layup and Justin Tubbs added another one to push the score out of reach.
Jeremy Wise led Southern Miss with 19 points. Craig Craft and Stone added 11 apiece.
The Golden Eagles came in averaging 80 points and shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor. They couldn't come close in either category and shot 31 percent.
Alabama shot 51 percent and hit 20 of 25 free throws in the second half.
