Alabama
4-3,0-0SEC
Western Kentucky
-62,00 CUSA
Alabama Falls to Western Kentucky, 73-71, in Final Seconds
12/19/2020 12:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
In a game that featured 14 leads changes and 18 ties, the outcome hung in the balance until the buzzer sounded
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – In a contest that see-sawed back and forth through 14 lead changes and 18 ties, the Alabama men's basketball team fell to Western Kentucky, 73-71, Saturday afternoon in Coleman Coliseum.
With the game tied at 71-71 with 57 seconds on the clock, a goaltending call during Hilltoppers' final possession gave them a 73-71 advantage, which ultimately proved final.
Herbert Jones, Jordan Bruner (13) and Jaden Shackelford (12) all scored in double figures for the Tide, with Jones leading the way with 16. John Petty Jr. led the Tide with seven rebounds and four steals to go along with his nine points on the night.
Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"Tough loss. We have not played well through the early part of the season to be honest with you. We have struggled a lot. Our assist-to-turnover ratio was 19 to seven the wrong way. That's a major problem. When you turn the ball over 19 times and they scored off those turnovers. We continue to have issues rebounding the ball. It seems like it's an every other game thing. There's some stuff we definitely have to clean up. We've struggled shooting the ball tonight and really it's been the last three games. We have to get better shots and the ball has to move better. That's on me as a coach. I have to do a better job with our guys. We have to get them better shots because we have a lot of good shooters on this team. We have to get our culture right and bring the effort it takes to win on game-by-game basis because it can't come every other game."
Team Stats
- Alabama (4-3) shot 39.3 percent from the field while Western Kentucky (6-2) shot 45.0 percent
- Western Kentucky held a slight rebounding edge (38-35) while Alabama scored 28 points off turnovers to the Hilltoppers' 21
- Alabama managed just 28 points in the paint while the Hilltoppers scored 42
- Neither team led by more than six points throughout the contest
- Jones totaled 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and added four rebounds in 33 minutes of action
- Petty added nine points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists
- WKU was led by Charles Bassey's 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting and 12 rebounds
First Half
- Alabama took its first lead since a 7-6 advantage early on with 1:57 left on the clock, edging ahead 29-28 before WKU took a 33-32 lead into the break
- Jahvon Quinerly came off the bench to lead the Tide with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field with Alabama shooting 36.7 percent (11-of-30) as a team
Second Half
- Down by one coming out of the half, a Jones layup gave the Tide a 34-33 lead in the opening moments of the second stanza, continuing the back-and-forth nature of the game
- Western Kentucky went up 67-62 with 5:29 remaining before the Tide responded with an 8-0 run over the next 3:20 to take a 70-67 lead with just over two minutes remaining
- A Petty free throw tied the game at 71-71 with 0:57 seconds remaining, before the goaltending call gave WKU the 73-71 lead
- Jones' final shot attempted was disrupted as the Hilltoppers grabbed the rebound and ran out the clock to secure the win
Up Next
- The Crimson Tide is slated to close out its non-conference slate Tuesday, Dec. 22 at home against East Tennessee State
- The contest is set to get underway at 6:30 p.m. CT streaming online on SEC Network+
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