Alabama
LSU
Men's Basketball Falls at LSU, 76-62
2/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 8, 2009
BATON ROUGE, La. - The Alabama men's basketball team (13-10, 3-6 SEC) fell on the road to LSU 76-62 (19-4, 7-1 SEC) Sunday afternoon. The Crimson Tide handed LSU its only conference loss earlier in the season but could not overcome a 17-0 run by the Tigers late in the first half that gave LSU a double-digit lead that they would not give up.
Junior Mikhail Torrance led Alabama with 12 points and knocked down 6-6 from the free throw line. Sophomore Senario Hillman added 11 points, and junior Demetrius Jemison chipped in nine off the bench.
The Crimson Tide shot 34 percent from the field while LSU made 45 percent of its field goal attempts. Alabama forced 16 Tiger turnovers that led to 15 points, while the Tigers held an edge on the glass, out-rebounding Alabama 40-32.
Alabama trailed 40-28 entering halftime due in large part to the 17-0 run by LSU from the 7:56 mark to the 4:07 mark in the first. The Tide led 22-18 after an Anthony Brock three-pointer with 8:37 left, but after that Alabama went nearly six minutes of game time without a field goal.
The Tide jumped on the Tigers early, starting the game on an 11-2 run capped with a dunk by freshman JaMychal Green. Green led the Tide with eight points and four rebounds in the first half before exiting the game with a hip pointer. He did not return.
Marcus Thornton scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half to lead all scorers. Tasmin Mitchell contributed a double-double for the Tigers, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Alabama returns home to Coleman Coliseum to take on South Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT.
