Alabama
12-9,4-4SEC
Arkansas
16-5,4-4SEC
Alabama Comes Up Short In Back-And-Forth Battle Against Arkansas, 82-78
2/1/2020 8:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Freshman Jaden Shackelford led the short-handed Tide by matching his career-high of 28 points in the loss
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Despite a big offensive performance by freshman guard Jaden Shackelford, the Alabama men's basketball team fell short against Arkansas, 82-78, on Saturday night in Coleman Coliseum. The loss snapped the Crimson Tide's eight-game home winning streak and marked the first time the Crimson Tide has lost back-to-back games since late November when it dropped the first two games in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
It was announced shortly before tipoff that Alabama (12-9, 4-4 SEC) would be without two of its key players in team captain in Herbert Jones and graduate senior Beetle Bolden. Jones, who is the team's top defensive player and was averaging 9.9 points and 6.4 rebounds in 19 games this season, fractured his wrist against LSU and is out indefinitely. Bolden, the team's only senior and is averaging 8.4 points and 2.0 rebounds a contest, missed his second consecutive game due to an illness. Combined, Jones and Bolden averaged 18.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
Alabama freshman Jaden Shackelford led the team with 28 points on 11-of-22 shooting from the field, including five three-pointers, to tie his season set his season high in both shots made and attempted. It marked his second consecutive game and his third of the season scoring 20 or more points.
Junior Alex Reese finished with 14 points, notching two treys and a pair of blocks. Sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. added 12 points and three assists, while redshirt freshman Javian Davis added 11 points and a game-high three blocked shots.
Arkansas was led by Mason Jones who finished with 30 points, along with Jimmy Whitt Jr. who tallied 26 points on the night.
Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"Tough loss. I mean, we fought for a while. We just couldn't get it together defensively in the second half. I thought our defense kind of disappeared in the second half. We just weren't good enough to win the game. With having a short rotation, it was tough, but I definitely don't want to use that as an excuse. I thought we were able to avoid foul trouble for a large part of the game. I thought we got some decent play to start and we came out great of the gate. The guys kind of got themselves galvanized and brought together and had a great start. I thought our turnovers in the middle of the first half really killed our flow and it brought them back in it. In the second half, we just couldn't get stops. You can kind of break that game up into four-minute media timeout battles, and the only one we were any good on defense was the under eight and the under four. The other four we were awful in the second half. You lose in basketball when you can't guard the other team and it did not end well for us tonight."
Team Stats
- The Crimson Tide outrebounded the Razorbacks 41-34, including 15-11 on the offensive glass which resulted in a 17-11 edge in second chance points
- Arkansas forced Alabama into 17 turnovers, collecting 11 steals, and had a 27-13 in points off turnovers
- The contest marked Shackelford's second consecutive game scoring 20 or more (had 21 at LSU) and fifth consecutive double-digit scoring game
- Davis entered the game having scored a combined 18 points throughout the UA's seven conference games, but finished with 11 points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting from the field
- Freshman Jaylen Forbes grabbed a career-high nine rebounds in 17 minutes of action
- Alabama led for 25:12 of the contest compared to just 12:54 for Arkansas
- Tonight's loss is only the second at home (8-2), and the first since the season-opener
First Half
- Alabama stormed out of the gate with back-to-back three-pointers from Reese and Shackelford to grab an 8-0 lead and force an Arkansas timeout at just the 18:34 mark of the first half
- The Tide extended the run to 12-0 before Arkansas got on the board to make it 12-2 with 16:34 to play in the first
- After Alabama led 18-9, the Razorbacks used a 9-0 burst to tie the game at 18-18 with 9:46 remaining in the half
- Alabama moved ahead 22-18 at the 8:19 mark, but a 12-6 Arkansas run gave the Razorbacks a 30-24 advantage with 4:22 left in the half
- The Tide used a 15-3 run to take a 39-33 lead, but a triple by the Razorbacks in the final seconds of the half made it a 39-36 Crimson Tide lead at the halftime break
- Shackelford led the Tide in the opening period with 14 points, three rebounds and three assists while Reese and Davis added six points
Second Half
- Alabama made its first four field goals of the second half and grew its lead to 51-45 at the 15:52 media stoppage
- A layup at the 10:50 mark of the second half gave the Razorbacks a 59-57 lead
- An offensive rebound and put back by Petty helped Alabama score seven straight points to take a 67-66 lead
- At the final media timeout of the contest, Alabama was clinging to a 69-68 edge with 3:43 remaining
- Alabama held a 69-66 lead with 4:11 remaining, however, the Razorbacks went on an 11-1 run over the next 2:51 to take a 77-70 lead with 1:20 remaining to essentially seal the win
Alabama will have a short turnaround as it returns to action on Tuesday night when the Tide welcomes Tennessee to Coleman Coliseum. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPNU.
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