Alabama
Western Carolina
Men's Basketball Holds Off Western Carolina, 80-74
11/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama Crimson Tide battled back and forth with the Western Carolina Catamounts, but a 19-7 run to end the game assured the Tide an 80-74 victory on Monday evening at Coleman Coliseum. Alabama improves to 2-0 for the year, while Western Carolina drops to 0-2.
"We're fortunate to win," UA Head Coach Anthony Grant said. "I'm really proud of our guys and the way we were able to respond. Give Western Carolina credit, I thought they played really well. You always want to learn from a win as opposed to a loss. I think there's a lot that we can take away (from tonight). I thought at the end our guys were able to respond. We were able to get the stops we needed. We were able to get ourselves to the free throw line and make some shots and made enough plays to win the game."
Alabama earned the win on the efforts of Jimmie Taylor who scored 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting and added 10 rebounds, both career-highs for the sophomore, helping him earn his first career double-double.
The Tide had four players score in double digits, including senior Levi Randolph with his team-leading 19 points thanks in part to a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line. Junior guard Ricky Tarrant scored 18 points off of the bench. Sophomore forward Shannon Hale scored 10 points and had a team-high three steals, which was a career-high for him.
"I think Jimmie is just scratching the surface of where he could be," Grant said. "With every game, with every practice, he just continues to get better. It's great to see him witness the benefits of his hard work in tonight's game. I'm really proud of him - his first career double-double. I thought he did a great job."
In a game that featured 14 lead changes, Alabama was able to outscore Western Carolina 36-16 in the paint and had 26-3 advantage in bench points.
Alabama led 41-33 at half after doing most of the damage from the free-throw line. The Tide shot 81.8 percent (18-of-22) in the first half and ended up shooting 76 percent (32-of-42) from the free-throw line for the game. Western Carolina was 68 percent (15-of-22) from the free-throw line for the game.
Western Carolina was led by senior guard James Sinclair who had a game-high 31 points.
With its 80 points on the night, Alabama has now reached the 80-point mark in each of its first two games this season. It marks the first time since the 2007-08 season that the Tide has accomplished that feat.
Alabama plays the final game of its three-game, season-opening homestand on Thursday, Nov. 20, when Southern Miss comes to Tuscaloosa. The Tide and Golden Eagles tip off inside Coleman Coliseum and on SEC Network at 8 p.m. CT.
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