Alabama
17-13, 8-9
Florida
19-11, 10-7
Alabama Men’s Basketball Falls to Florida, 73-52, in Regular Season Home Finale
2/27/2018 8:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Collin Sexton led the team with 14 points while Braxton Key added 11
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team fell to Florida, 73-52, Tuesday night in its final home game of the regular season inside Coleman Coliseum.
Alabama was led by freshman Collin Sexton who had 14 points, five rebounds and three assists, while sophomore Braxton Key added 11 points and eight rebounds. Junior Lawson Schaffer set a career-high in minutes played (14) and assists (3) in the losing effort.
"First of all give credit where credit is due," Alabama head coach Avery Johnson said. "Florida came in playing like a desperate team. We got off to a decent start to the game, but once they took control, they never looked back. I thought we had an unbelievable practice yesterday but did not get any carry over into the game. So we're trying to figure out why we are practicing at a high level but the transfer of energy and information into the games just isn't there. Give Florida credit. They came out trying to even the series here in SEC play and they did it. Neither of us protected our home court. This was a game coming off our last performance I thought we were going to be ready to play.
"We just have to keep grinding, get back to work. We reconvene on Thursday. They have a mandatory off day tomorrow. I wish we could practice, but we can't. We'll reconvene on Thursday and get ready for Texas A&M."
The Crimson Tide (17-13, 8-9 SEC) was its own worst enemy in the first half as it shot just 13.3 percent from the field (4-of-30) in the opening stanza and couldn't make up the deficit in the second half. Alabama won the rebounding battle, edging the Gators, 46-31, on the glass including 20 offensive rebounds. However, that translated to only 11 second chance points for the Tide.
Alabama started the game well, taking a 7-2 lead at the 15:38 media timeout. However, the Tide would miss its next 19 shots from the field and finished the half missing 25 of its last 26 shots. Florida's offense took advantage by scoring 10 straight points and later ran off a 15-2 run to take a 37-18 advantage heading into the break.
In the second half, Alabama bettered its floor performance, connecting on 14-of-30 shots, but the Gators (19-9, 10-7) matched the Tide's performance, shooting 46.7 percent (14-of-30) to put away the game.
Despite the Crimson Tide dominating the glass, the Gators forced 15 turnovers while outscoring the Tide in the paint, 30-22, to pick up its 19th win of the season.
Jalen Hudson led the Gator offense with 27 points, while Egor Koulechov and KeVaughn Allen both contributed double figures.
Alabama will plays its final game of the regular season this Saturday, March 3, on the road at Texas A&M. The two teams met in the SEC opener when the Crimson Tide defeated the then-No. 5 Aggies, 79-57, in Coleman Coliseum on December 30. Saturday's tipoff is set for 1 p.m. CT on ESPN 2.
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