Alabama
Ole Miss
10-820-12; SEC
Alabama Uses Second Half Surge to Outlast Ole Miss in SEC Tournament, 62-57
3/14/2019 9:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Tevin Mack scored a game-high 21 points to lead Crimson Tide offense to victory
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Alabama outscored Ole Miss, 38-19, in the second half of Thursday night's Southeastern Conference Tournament game to advance past the Rebels by a final score of 62-57. With the win, the 10th-seeded Crimson Tide advances to the SEC Tournament quarterfinals for fourth consecutive season where it will take on No. 2 seed Kentucky on Friday night.
"I'm proud of the way our team fought back, especially in the second half, playing against a well-coached team," Alabama head coach Avery Johnson said. "I wanted to again congratulate Ole Miss. But my guys, the second half, I just asked them to turn the ball over five times or less. We were just throwing the ball all over Nashville today in the first half. But they responded. We made a couple of adjustments in the second half. We inserted Tevin (Mack) back into the lineup and he responded. We went bigger tonight inside and that paid dividends for us. This team, when their backs are against the wall, they seem to respond in a positive way. We're fortunate to get this win tonight."
Junior Tevin Mack led all scorers in the game with 21 points, while senior Donta Hall finished with a game-best 15 rebounds to go along with seven points. Freshman Kira Lewis Jr. added 13 points and a career-best four steals, while sophomore Galin Smith, making the start in the post, finished with career-best numbers of 11 points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes of action. Graduate senior Riley Norris added nine rebounds, eight of which came on the defensive end, and a career-high five assists for the Tide.
The game featured four ties and eight lead changes, all lead changes but one came in the second half.
As a team, Alabama dominated the boards, outrebounding the Rebels, 50-30, including a 17-6 edge in offensive rebounds resulting in a 23-2 lead on second chance points. The Tide's bench also provided a spark of energy, outscoring the Ole Miss reserves, 29-12.
In the second half, Alabama shot 41.9 percent from the field, including 50 percent from 3-point range, which helped erase a 14-point halftime disadvantage and a 16-point deficit early in the second half. Trailing by 12, 43-31, with 17:11 remaining in the contest, the Crimson Tide went on a big 13-0 run over the next 3:57 to take its first lead of the game, 44-43, with 13:14 left to play.
Ole Miss and Alabama would trade baskets over the next few minutes until a jumper by Breein Tyree gave the Rebels a 56-53 lead with 4:11 left in the half. However, UA would outscore Ole Miss 9-1 the rest of the way to result in the final score.
With 1:34 to go and the Tide trailing by two points, Lewis Jr. drove in the lane for a layup to even the score at 57-57. Sophomore John Petty Jr.'s only basket of the night came at the most crucial part of the game with a dunk to take back the lead with exactly a minute to go. Smith would come up with a pair of huge defensive rebounds on the Rebels' final two possessions, leaving Ole Miss without a field goal down the stretch.
With the win, Johnson improves to 6-3 in SEC Tournament contests and four consecutive quarterfinal appearances, marking the first time Alabama has achieved that feat since doing so from 2010-13.
Next up, the Tide will face the No. 2 seed Kentucky Wildcats in Friday's quarterfinals. The game is set to tip at 6 p.m. CT in Bridgestone Arena and will air on the SEC Network.
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.
