Alabama
1-2,0-0SEC
Rhode Island
2-1,0-0Atlantic 10
Alabama’s Second Half Comeback Not Enough in 93-79 Loss at Rhode Island
11/15/2019 9:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. led four Alabama players in double digits with 21 points
KINGSTON, R.I. – The Alabama men's basketball team fell to the Rhode Island Rams, 93-79, Friday night inside the Ryan Center, despite a gutsy second half comeback.
The Crimson Tide (1-2) fell into a big deficit in the first half and trailed by as many as 22 points, but Alabama rallied behind strong shooting and timely defensive stops to cut the lead to 81-76 with less than three minutes remaining. However, Rhode Island (2-1) scored the game's next 12 points to secure the home victory.
For the second game this season, sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. led all Alabama players in scoring as he finished with 21 points – his second 20-point game in three contests – to go along with team-highs of four assists and three steals.
Junior Herbert Jones, who returned from an injury he suffered 10 minutes into the season opener, saw his first significant action of the campaign as he added 17 points and three rebounds. Freshman Javian Davis also had a solid game with 11 points and seven boards, scoring all of his points and grabbing all but three of his rebounds over the final 20 minutes.
Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
- "We have to quit turning over the ball. We had way too many turnovers in the first half. When we didn't turn the ball over, we were able to get our defense set and started playing a little better on that end of the floor. That really helped us make the comeback in the second half. We were able to cut it to five, but they finished on a 12-0 run and we made a couple of bad fouls during that stretch. I thought our guys did a pretty good job of staying with it in the second half. We just didn't have anything left. I don't think we handed adversity well in the first half. Our shots weren't falling – I think we went 0-for-10 from three – and had a bunch of turnovers and couldn't' hit our free throws. I think we let it effect our effort on the defensive end. If we were down at the half by six or eight points instead of 17, then we have a better chance to win that game. We have got a lot to learn. I think the schedule we are playing is a good one – we are challenging ourselves early and it will make us better."
Team Stats
- The Tide outrebounded the Rams 40-31 and grabbed 10 offensive boards to the Rams' four, which resulted in 9-3 edge in second-chance points
- It was the third time in three games that Alabama has recorded at least 40 rebounds in a game and outrebounded the opposition
- Four Alabama players reached double figures, as junior Alex Reese contributed 10 points, five rebounds and four assists off the bench
- Alabama notched a season-best 50 points in the paint
- The Crimson Tide shot 47 percent (31-of-66) from the field in the game, including shooting 57 percent (17-of-30) from the floor in the second half
- UA connected on only 23 percent (5-of-22) from beyond the arc with all five makes coming after the intermission (5-of-10)
- Alabama shot 75% from the free throw line, sinking 12-from-16 for the game, including 7-for-7 in the second half
First Half
- The Crimson Tide opened the game on a 6-0 run with 17:48 left after creating three turnovers on Rhode Island's first three possessions
- After missing the previous game due to injury, junior Herbert Jones stuffed the stat sheet in the game's first five minutes, racking up four points, three rebounds, a steal, a block and a charge drawn
- After trailing 8-5 at the 16:31 mark, the Rams reeled off a 10-0 run grab a 15-8 lead with 14:14 left in the first
- With Rhode Island leading 17-14, a 19-4 surge by the Rams extended their lead to 36-18 with 6:20 remaining
- The Rams grabbed their largest lead of the half at 22 points (42-20) with 4:34 left before intermission
- The Tide fought hard to decrease the gap, but Rhode Island headed into the halftime break with a 50-33 lead
Second Half
- With the Rams leading 58-37, The Crimson Tide used an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 58-48 with 13:35 to go in the game
- With 7:30 to play, Petty drilled a three pointer on the wing to cap an 8-2 Tide run and cut the deficit to just 73-67
- Rhode Island answered back with a 6-2 spurt and extended its lead to 79-69 with 5:27 to go
- With 3:28 to go, Davis cashed in a layup to cut the Rams' lead to just 81-76, which was as close as the Tide would get
- After Alabama cut Rhode Island's lead to five points, the Rams scored 12 straight points to seal the game before Lewis' three-pointer in the final seconds resulted in final score
The Tide will return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 19 as it hosts Furman at Coleman Coliseum. Tip-off is slated for 7 pm and will be available on SEC Network+.
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