Alabama
16-15 (8-10)
Missouri
15-16 (7-11)
Alabama Falls in Regular Season Finale at Missouri
3/7/2020 4:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Lewis led the team with 18 points, followed by Shackelford who finished with 13
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Alabama men's basketball team fell short in its final game of the regular season, 69-50, against the Missouri Tigers in Mizzou Arena Saturday afternoon.
Despite entering the game ranked No. 2 in the nation in both scoring offense (83.1 points per game) and threes made per game (11.0), Alabama struggled for most of the contest. The Crimson Tide established season lows in points scored, threes made (4), rebounds (27) and assists (7) in the 19-point defeat - the Tide's largest of the year.
Sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. led Alabama (16-15, 8-10 SEC) with 18 points, four assists and a pair steals, while freshman Jaden Shackelford collected 13 points and five boards. Junior Galin Smith recorded his third double-digit scoring game of the season with 10 points to go along with four rebounds in just his sixth start of the season.
Missouri (15-16, 7-11 SEC) was led by Dru Smith who finished with 17 points and a game-high eight assists.
Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"Give Missouri a lot of credit. I thought they were really good and their game plan caused us fits. It was our worst offensive performance by far this year. They kind of bottled up Kira's penetration and took away our three-point shooting. I thought we battled hard for about 30 minutes and they went a run that took it from three-point lead for us to go up around 10 with eight minutes left. From what our assistants told me, they scored on 17 of their final 18 possessions before intentionally not scoring on their last couple. It was pretty embarrassing effort on defense to close the game out. Going into the game, we said that no matter what happens, let's make sure and give an effort the whole game. I thought we did that up until that point then the dam just sort of broke."
Team Stats
- The game was close early and featured 11 lead changes and nine ties through the first 30 minutes of the contest
- With UA leading 37-34, Mizzou went on a 12-1 spurt to take an eight-point lead and never looked back
- Galin Smith scored double-digit points for only the third time this season, shooting 4-of-8 from the field in making his sixth start of the season
- Lewis has now scored double-digit points in 29 of Alabama's 31 games this season
- Shackelford notched his 15th consecutive double-digit scoring game
- There were 11 lead changes with nine ties throughout the two halves
First Half
- The game got off to a slow start as the Tigers led 9-7 at the 12:15 mark of the first half
- With Missouri leading 11-7, the Tide used a 7-0 spurt to take a 14-11 lead
- The Tigers responded with an 8-2 run to regain the lead at 19-16 with 3:15 to go in the half
- Missouri would hang on to its lead and enter the half in front 21-20
- Kira Lewis Jr. lead the Tide with nine first half points
Second Half
- At the first media timeout of the second half, Alabama held a 26-25 lead with 15:50 on the clock
- The game was all knotted up at 34-34 with 11:46 to go in the contest
- Alabama led 37-34 before a 12-1 Missouri run gave the Tigers a 46-38 lead with 10:10 remaining
- Missouri continued to build on its lead as a three-pointer extended the Tigers' advantage to 56-44 with 4:25 to play
- In all, Mizzou would outscore UA, 35-13 over the final 10:10
The Tide will return to action when it tips off the 2020 Southeastern Conference men's basketball tournament in Nashville, Tenn. Alabama will play its opening game in the event on Thursday, with the opponent and tip time to be determined later Saturday night.
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