By Charlie Potter and Sean Landry
The Alabama men’s basketball team split its pair of home games over the weekend, losing to No. 6 Florida Thursday and defeating LSU Saturday.
The Crimson Tide is now 9-10 overall on the season and 3-3 in Southeastern Conference play.
Thursday night, Florida attempted a season-high 28 three-pointers, making 10 en route to an efficient 65-59 victory over Alabama. Sophomore guard Michael Frazier led Florida with 18 points, shooting 5-13 on the night – all from behind the arc.
Senior guard Trevor Releford said Florida’s long-range shooting, and Frazier’s in particular, hurt the Crimson Tide.
“Those threes hurt our momentum,” Releford said. “We just gave Frazier his confidence, and … he just kept letting it go.”
Inside the arc, Alabama struggled to quiet senior forward Casey Prather. Prather had 14 points on the night, shooting 6-16 – all inside the paint. For his part, Prather credits his success to halftime adjustments and Frazier’s shooting.
“We knew we had to get the ball deep into the zone in order to get good shots at the basket,” Prather said. “I think we did a good job with that in the second half.”
Saturday night was a different story for the Crimson Tide, with Alabama claiming an 82-80 victory over LSU. But it was not all smooth sailing against the Tigers.
In the first half, Alabama went on a 22-2 run, after LSU opened the game with a 7-0 lead.
LSU came alive after halftime, scoring 57 of its 80 points in the second half.
“We knew coming in, LSU’s extremely talented,” Alabama coach Anthony Grant said. “They’re an explosive team. They’ve been that way all year.”
Junior guard Rodney Cooper contributed 19 points, and his 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range helped the Crimson Tide avoid a second-half meltdown. Cooper also led the team with six rebounds.
Cooper and freshman forward Shannon Hale both hit late-game shots that kept Alabama afloat and eventually led to victory. Cooper sunk a layup after an offensive rebound with 1:32 left in the game, and Hale knocked down a three-point shot with 46 seconds to go.
Hale scored a career-high 17 points and led the team with six assists, which was also a career best. His three-point basket that gave the Crimson Tide a 79-77 lead came after he missed a three the possession before.
“That’s huge,” Releford said. “That just shows how much heart he’s got as a freshman just to throw up a shot like that. That’s huge. That’s huge.”
Sophomore guard Retin Obasohan sat out for a second straight game Saturday night after initially missing Thursday’s game against Florida with a strained hip flexor.
The Crimson Tide will travel to Auburn Wednesday to face the Tigers. The game tips off at 7 p.m. and is televised on SEC TV.
