TUSCALOOSA, Ala — The No. 24-ranked Alabama men’s basketball team used a second-half surge to outlast Louisiana Tech 77-74 Wednesday night in Coleman Coliseum.
Alabama (6-1) hit 13 consecutive free throws in the second half to help spark a 17-9 run in the last 4 minutes, 31 seconds to secure the victory.
Sophomore Dazon Ingram tied a career-high with 22 points. He was 13-for-17 from the free-throw line. He also had nine rebounds. Freshman Collin Sexton had 22 points, three steals, and three assists. Junior Donta Hall had 15 points, seven rebounds, and four blocked shots.
Alabama handed Louisiana Tech (5-1) its first loss of the season and held the Bulldogs to 36.9-percent shooting from the field. The Crimson Tide had a 43-36 rebounding edge.
Alabama used an 8-0 in the final 2 minutes, 9 seconds of the first half to cut its halftime deficit to 38-37. But Louisiana Tech used a 9-0 run to start the second half to take its largest lead, 48-37, at the 17:08 mark.
Alabama answered with a 9-1 run of its own to cut the deficit to 53-50 with 9:13 left. After Sexton tied the game at 67 with 3:16 remaining, the teams traded baskets down the stretch with four lead changes. Senior Riley Norris converted layup with 1:18 left that gave Alabama a 71-70 lead. Ingram and Sexton hit their last four free throws to help the Crimson Tide seal the deal. Alabama was 16-for-18 (88.9 percent) from the free-throw line in the second half.
Daquan Bracey led Louisiana Tech with 21 points, while Jacobi Boykens had 14.
Alabama will play host to UCF at 1 p.m. Sunday (ESPNU) at Coleman Coliseum.
n South Alabama 69, Southern Mississippi 58: At Mobile, Alabama, the fourth road game in six days wasn’t kind to the Golden Eagles on Wednesday night, as they slipped to 3-4 with the loss to the Jaguars (5-3) in the Mitchell Center.
“We just didn’t have anything tonight,” Southern Miss coach Doc Sadler said. “Last weekend was a tough one with travel and everything, but this is the first time we didn’t exceed the energy of the opponent. Unfortunately for us, our guard play has to exceed the other team’s and it wasn’t there tonight. There were some good things, like only having seven turnovers and allowing five offensive boards.
“Of all our games, nobody had played harder than us.”
Southern Miss played South Dakota (Friday), Youngstown State (Saturday), and Northern Colorado (Sunday) as part of the Sanford Pentagon Showcase in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The Jaguars took a 29-4 lead and led 40-19 at halftime.
Southern Miss worked its way back to 61-48 on a Dominic Magee layup with a little more than four minutes remaining, but Rodrick Sikes’ 3-pointer stalled the Golden Eagles’ momentum.
Magee led Southern Miss with 16 points and nine rebounds. Cortez Edwards had 14 points and six rebounds.
Southern Miss will play host Rust at 2p.m. Sunday on First Responders’ Appreciation Day, where personnel can receive a complimentary ticket and purchase additional ones at a discounted rate.
Women
n Ole Miss 65, Middle Tennessee 56: At Oxford, Alissa Alston had a game-high 22 points and was 14-for-16 from the free-throw line Wednesday night to lead the Rebels (6-1) past the Blue Raiders (4-1) at The Pavilion at Ole Miss.
Ole Miss used a 23-3 run in third quarter to rally from a 12-point deficit in the first quarter.
The Rebels rallied after losing senior Shandricka Sessom to a knee injury at the 2-minute, 1-second mark of the opening quarter.
“We’ll know more on Shandricka in the morning,” Ole Miss coach Matt Insell said. “I feel bad for her. She’s such a great kid. She’s in great spirits. She’s smiling. We’ve got a lot of injuries right now, but it’s next man up. We’ve got players playing in positions they’ve never played before right now, but you tell them what do to do and they do it. I’m so proud of them.”
After claiming the lead, Ole Miss never looked back. Junior Torri Lewis went back-to-back from beyond the 3-point line as the Rebels used a 23-3 run to take a 46-37 lead into the final period.
The Blue Raiders cut the deficit to four in the final two minutes, but the Rebels finished the job at the free-throw line to give Insell his first win against his father, Middle Tennessee coach Rick Insell.
“Really good win for our team. Really gutsy performance,” Insell said. “We beat a really good basketball team today. Couldn’t be more proud of our team, couldn’t be more proud to be their coach. I love every single one of them.”
Ole Miss will play host to Arkansas State at 3 p.m. Saturday as part of a doubleheader at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. The Ole Miss men’s basketball team will play host to Virginia Tech at 1 p.m. Sunday (SEC Network+).
n Southern Mississippi will take on South Alabama: At Hattiesburg, the Southern Mississippi women’s basketball team will play host to South Alabama at 6 tonight at Reed Green Coliseum.
Southern Miss (6-1) is coming off a 71-59 win over Northwestern State.
Jayla King is averaging a team-best 17.3 points per game for the Lady Eagles.
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