Alabama
4-5,0-0SEC
Penn State
9-2,1-1Big Ten
Alabama Comes Up Short in Battle At Penn State, 73-71
12/14/2019 3:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Beetle Bolden finished with 15 points off the bench to lead a balanced scoring effort
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The Alabama men's basketball team fell in the final seconds to Penn State, 73-71, on Saturday afternoon in Bryce Jordan Arena. The Crimson Tide led for a majority of the contest, but a late second half scoring run by the Nittany Lions proved to be too much to overcome in the final seconds.
The Tide (4-5) led by as many as nine points on two separate occasions, the last coming at 52-43 at the 15:28 mark of the second half. However, multiple mini spurts by the Nittany Lions (9-2) all added up to a 25-7 run over the next 11:11 gave Penn State a 68-63 lead with a little over four minutes remaining.
Alabama would mount a comeback and twice had a chance in the final seconds to tie the game or take a lead but were unable to convert each time.
Graduate student Beetle Bolden led the Crimson Tide with 15 points off the bench, while junior Alex Reese was the only other double-digit scorer at 12 point to go along with eight boards. Junior Herbert Jones added six points and led UA with nine rebounds and three steals, while Lewis ended the night with seven points, seven rebounds and six assists, but finished just 3-of-18 from the field.
Three Penn State players (Lamar Stevens with 18, Curtis Jones with 18 and Myreon Jones with 17) combined to score 53 of their team's 73 points.
Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"It was a tough game. I grew up in Big Ten country and watched a lot of Big Ten basketball so I knew it was going to be a tough game. Coach (Patrick) Chambers has done a great job here and I wouldn't be surprised if they are ranked in the top 25 next week. Between Stevens and (Mike) Watkins along with the shooters they've got, we knew it was coming in but I thought we matched their toughness for the most part. We just ran out of gas there at the end. I thought we outplayed them for 32 minutes. There was about an four-minute stretch from the under eight to the under four timeout of the second half that killed us. We were up on the glass until that time as well. There was that one possession when they got I think four offensive rebounds. Proud of the effort our guys gave against a quality team."
Team Stats
- Bolden had a stand-out game, leading the Tide in scoring with 15 points, going 5-for-10 from the field and 2-for-4 beyond the arc
- Bolden and Reese were the only two UA players to finish with 10-plus points, but all nine players who saw action scored at least four points on the night
- Reese earned his second-consecutive double-digit scoring game as he led the team by hitting 3-of-8 shots from deep
- The Tide's reserves outscored the Nittany Lions' bench 31-22, and owned a 36-22 edge in the paint
- Freshman Jaylen Forbes tied his career-high of five points, while adding four boards
- Javian Davis, who was hampered with foul trouble, finished with eight points and four rebounds in 12 minutes of action
- The Crimson Tide concluded the game with a season-low 10 turnovers
First Half
- After a 6-0 Penn State run gave the Nittany Lions a 17-15 advantage, Alabama answered back with a 6-0 surge of its own and grabbed a 21-17 lead with 9:56 to go in the first
- After the Nittany Lions scored eight straight and took a 25-21 lead, the Tide reeled off 12 consecutive points to go up 33-25 with 4:25 remaining in the half
- Lewis scored a driving layup in the final seconds of the first half, giving the Crimson Tide a 40-34 halftime lead
- Bolden led Alabama with 12 points in the opening period
- The Tide's reserves accounted for 22 of its 40 first half points
- The Crimson Tide pulled down 26 rebounds in the opening stanza, marking a season high for rebounds in a half
Second Half
- After Penn State cut the deficit to two early in the second half, Alabama responded with a 6-0 run to widen its lead to 50-41 at the 15:42 mark of the second half
- After a 10-4 Penn State scoring run cut the Alabama lead to 54-51, a Bolden three-pointer stretched the Tide's advantage to 57-51 with 13:08 to go
- With 6:12 to play, Alabama clung to a 63-59 lead before Penn State scored seven straight points to move ahead, 66-63, with 5:09 remaining
- Five straight points from Reese cut the Crimson Tide's deficit to 70-69 with just 2:05 to play
- After getting a defensive stop trailing 72-71, Alabama called timeout with 23.7 seconds to play
- Reese would miss the shot, but on the ensuing inbounds pass, Lewis stole the ball at half court and put up a half-court shot at the buzzer that was off the mark, resulting in the final score
The Tide will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 18, as it travels to Birmingham to take on Samford at Legacy Arena. Tip-off is slated for 6:30 pm and will be available with live streaming on ESPN+.
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