Buzzer Beater Ends Tide Season in NIT First Round
3/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
AMHERST, Mass. ?? A floating jumper by University of Massachusetts guard Chris Lowe with just over one second to play in overtime ended the University of Alabama basketball team’s season in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament Tuesday night in Amherst, Mass.
“We came up one play short tonight,” Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried said. “But I couldn’t have been prouder of our guys, our effort was outstanding. We just came up short.”
After a Demetrius Jemison tip-in with nine seconds left to play, Lowe took the inbounds pass and drove the length of the court to hit a leaning jump shot from 15-feet to lift the hosting Minutemen to the 89-87 victory.
It appeared as if UMass would not even need any heroics to put away the Tide, however, as the Minutemen looked to have the game wrapped up late in regulation.
After a pair of turnovers ended two Tide chances to tie or take the lead in the final 1:40 of regulation, Alabama had the ball trailing by three with just under five seconds to play.
That’s when the Tide’s Mykal Riley, who had helped carry his team offensively through much of the night, pulled off one of the most memorable shots of the season. Catching the ball on the left wing nearly 30 feet away from the basket, Riley swished a three-pointer over the outstretched hands of two UMass defenders, sending the game to the overtime period.
Prior to Riley’s last-second shot, it looked good for the Tide midway through the second half, as Alabama put together a 15-5 run over a four-minute span, taking a nine-point lead at one point. A Jermareo Davidson lay-up that would have put UA up 11 rimmed out, however, and UMass promptly put together its own run to pull within two at the 7:25 mark.
The teams traded baskets for much of the remainder of regulation until Riley’s buzzer-beater sent the game into overtime
Riley spearheaded a backcourt tandem that was playing without junior guard Rondald Steele for the third time in the last five games. Riley and teammate Brandon Hollinger provided a huge offensive spark for the Tide, as the duo combined for 43 points on the night.
“Their effort was terrific tonight,” Gottfried said. “Those two guys stepped up and made plays on both ends of the floor. They just played great for us.”
Riley scored 13 of his career and game-high 24 points in the first half, helping the Tide overcome a sloppy opening stanza that saw the team commit nine turnovers.
Hollinger also set a career best on the offensive end, pouring in 19 points to go with a pair of assists in the game. The sophomore from Mobile drained three three-pointers and dropped all four of his foul shots en route to his career night.
Alonzo Gee scored 14 points and Jermareo Davidson had 10, joining Riley and Hollinger in double figures in the scoring column.
Sophomore Richard Hendrix pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and dished a career-best seven assists in the losing effort.
The Minutemen were led by center Stephane Lasme, who scored 21 points and tallied nine blocked shots in the game. Chris Lowe.
Alabama suffered its first overtime postseason loss in school history after having won the first such game in the first round of the 1995 NCAA Tournament over Pennsylvania.
Massachusetts finished the game shooting an even 50 percent from the floor, marking the eighth time this season the Tide surrendered at least 50 percent. Alabama did force 20 UMass turnovers, however, a season high, and outrebounded the Minutemen, 42-40.
Alabama, which fell to 17-13 in the NIT in program history, finished its season with a 20-12 mark. The Minutemen improved to 24-8 on the season and move on to face West Virginia in the NIT second round.
