TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Stefan Moody scored 25 points, 22 in the second half, and Ladarius White added 19 to help the Ole Miss men’s basketball team beat Alabama 82-74 on Tuesday night at Coleman Coliseum.
Moody hit 13 of 14 free throws, White made 4 of 5 3-pointers, and Aaron Jones added 10 points to help Ole Miss (20-10, 11-6 Southeastern Conference) record its seventh 20-win in nine years. The victory also snapped a two-game losing skid and bolstered the team’s resume for the NCAA tournament.
Ole Miss trailed 43-38 early in the second half before going on a 17-3 run for a 55-46 advantage. Six Ole Miss players scored during the stretch, including back-to-back 3-pointers by White.
Alabama pulled within 75-70 with less than a minute left, but Ole Miss made 7 of 8 free throws to seal it.
Levi Randolph led Alabama (17-13, 7-10) with 32 points after going perfect from the line on a school-record 17 attempts.
Rodney Cooper added 14 for the Crimson Tide and Jimmie Taylor had 13 points with 11 rebounds.
Ole Miss spoiled Senior Night for Randolph and Cooper, who were in their final games at Coleman Coliseum.
Ole Miss took its first lead, 34-32, on a 3-pointer by White with 17 minutes, 57 seconds remaining. Moody made two free throws to re-tie the game at 43 with 13:06 left. The Rebels then broke the game open with a 12-3 run, triggered by back-to-back 3-pointers by White to take a 55-46 lead.
“I thought Alabama’s zone in the first half had us really perimeter oriented and had us very stagnant. We were settling for way too many jump shots,” Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. “In the second half we played with much better rhythm. We made some adjustments. In the second half we were able to create some driving lanes with our spacing. I thought we made some key plays down the stretch.”
Playing in their last regular-season home game, Cooper and Randolph helped Alabama start quickly. Cooper scored the first five points on a 3-pointer and two free throws and Randolph hit a 3-pointer at the 16:44 mark to give the Crimson Tide an 8-0 lead. Ole Miss went on a 22-14 run to tie the game at 22 on a basket by Sebastian Saiz with 5:24 left. Alabama outscored Ole Miss 8-2 before White buried a 3-pointer with two seconds to go to make it 30-27 at halftime.
“It was a combination of our turnovers and them doing what they do,” Alabama coach Anthony Grant said. “Moody’s a tough cover. White is more than a capable scorer. Those two guys and us committing nine turnovers in the second half gave them opportunities to get out and get easy scores.”
Randolph said Alabama didn’t answer when Ole Miss went on its run.
“We always talk about basketball as a game of runs,” he said. “We have to be able to withstand their runs. You just have to keep fighting. It’s a 40-minute game. They made their run and we weren’t able to respond to their run.”
NOTES: Randolph, Cooper, and walk-on Dakota Slaughter were recognized on Senior Night. Randolph is the first Academic All-American in Alabama basketball history. … Grant coached in his 200th game at Alabama. He needs eight victories to reach 200. … Five of Alabama’s 12 losses, including four in SEC play, have come down to the final possession. … Alabama has lost two of its top four scorers, junior guard Ricky Tarrant and sophomore forward Shannon Hale, for the remainder of the season due to injury. … Moody entered the game leading the SEC in free-throw shooting percentage (91.2) and was fourth in the league in scoring. Ole Miss entered the game fourth in the nation in free-throw percentage (77.6). … Ole Miss has 36 wins in the SEC in the past three years, trailing only Florida and Kentucky.
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