Alabama
Xavier
Men's Basketball Falls at Xavier, 97-84
12/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CINCINNATI, Ohio - The Alabama men's basketball team fell to Xavier by a score of 97-84 at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. With the loss, Alabama is now 5-2 on the season, while the Musketeers improve to 6-2.
Junior guard Ricky Tarrant led the Crimson Tide with a season-high 23 points. Overall, four Alabama players tallied double figures including Levi Randolph (15), Shannon Hale (12) and Rodney Cooper (10). Randolph led Alabama with four assists while Michael Kessens grabbed a team-best five rebounds on the night.
The Tide owned a 10-5 lead early in the contest, but Xavier used some hot-shooting from outside to go on a 12-2 run and never looked back. The Musketeers led 41-30 at half.
Alabama started the second half on fire, hitting 10 of its first 13 shots from the floor. However, Xavier was up for the challenge, knocking down 5-of-6 threes and 8-10 from free throws over the opening seven minutes of the second half, to maintain a double-digit advantage.
The Tide finished the second half shooting 67 percent from the floor and scored 54 points. Xavier was even better, however, hitting 70 percent from the field and 19-of-29 free throws over the final 20 minutes, as Alabama was never able to cut the lead to single digits.
The Musketeers were led by Myles Davis who had 18 points on the night, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, to lead six Xavier players in double digits.
The Crimson Tide will have a week off between games due to fall semester exams. Alabama will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 13, when it hosts Tennessee Tech at 8 p.m. CT at Coleman Coliseum.
For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaMBB on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. General athletic news can be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
