Alabama
16-11, 9-6
Georgia
16-12, 7-8
Men’s Basketball Comeback Falls Short Against Georgia, 60-55, on Thursday Night
2/23/2017 8:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Alabama cut the lead to one point five times over the final 9:06 of play
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team fell to Georgia, 60-55, in Coleman Coliseum on Thursday night. The Tide, which trailed by as many as 14 points, cut the lead to one point on five different occasions over the final 9:06, but could never take a lead.
Junior Ar'Mond Davis led the Tide with 17 points on the back of a career-high seven made field goals. Freshman Braxton Key followed close behind Davis with 16 and nine boards. Sophomore Donta Hall nearly had a double-double as well, closing the night with 11 points and nine rebounds.
"This was not our best game tonight," Alabama head coach Avery Johnson said. "We've been searching for a balanced game, and we just weren't balanced on a night that we needed to be balanced. We had a decent defensive effort, (J.J.) Frazier slipped some traps and there were a couple of loose balls that we didn't get. They ended up scoring 60 points and normally, when teams score 62 points or less, we've been pretty successful. We had a very lethargic first half on offense, it's been something that has been kind of a snake bite all year. We were able to come back, we find ourselves in the second half and then fight uphill all game. We cut the lead to one point several times down the stretch, but then we didn't take care of the ball, had a couple of turnovers; but the game didn't come down to those turnovers or the second half. We just didn't have a good first half by any stretch of the imagination, especially offensively."
Alabama (16-11, 9-6 SEC) struggled offensively in the first half, shooting just 23 percent from the field (7-of-31) and from beyond the arc (3-of-13). Georgia opened the contest with a 14-4 run over the first 9:53. Davis provided a much-needed spark in the opening 20 minutes, scoring 10 points to keep the Tide within striking distance. Davis closed the first half with a steal and dunk at the buzzer to cut Bulldogs' lead to 30-18.
The Tide found new life to begin the second half, going on a 13-4 run over a span of 4:56 to cut the Bulldogs' lead to 42-40 with 11:04 to play. Through the first 11 minutes of the second half, Alabama had outscored Georgia 29-18 and trailed 48-47 with 9:06 to play.
With Alabama trailing 56-55 with under a minute remaining, redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram fouled Georgia's J.J. Frazier, who went to the line and made both free throw attempts to extend the lead to three points. An Alabama turnover on the next possession and resulting foul on the fast break attempt, put Frazier, who scored a game-high 28 points, back at the line. He made one of two free throws and the Bulldogs would add one more on their next possession to result in the final score.
Georgia is the first team to defeat Alabama this season when scoring less than 62 points this season. The Tide entered the contest a perfect 13-0 when holding opponents under that mark. Alabama outrebounded the Bulldogs 42-30, including a 17-3 advantage on the offensive glass.
Alabama has a quick turnaround as the team travels to College Station, Texason Saturday night. The Tide will tip off against Texas A&M at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
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