Southern Miss
Alabama
Southern Miss Falls at Alabama, 81-67
11/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama made its first nine shots and never looked back, as Southern Miss dropped its first game of the season, 81-67, Thursday night at Coleman Coliseum.
Matt Bingaya led the Golden Eagles with 19 points and three assists. Norville Carey scored a career-high 17 points and added a team-high five rebounds. Chip Armelin had a game-high four assists.
"You have to give Alabama credit," said Southern Miss head coach Doc Sadler. "They took good shots and made it difficult for us on the defensive end. But, with only four guys who have played college basketball on the road, our youth showed. But, I wasn't overly disappointed. There were some things that I was happy with. We only committed eight turnovers. We made some shots. But defensively, I didn't think that we had the toughness that you need to go on the road and come out with a win."
After taking an early 5-0 lead, Bingaya put the Golden Eagles on the board with a three-pointer. Following a Crimson Tide jumper, Dallas Anglin made it 7-6 with a three.
The teams traded baskets before Levi Randolph scored five straight to make it a 14-8 game just 4:24 in. Bingaya made a three, and after Randolph hit a jumper, Armelin made a three to pull Southern Miss to within 16-14. But, three free throws from Randolph, followed by a three from Michael Kessens, pushed the lead to 22-14.
Southern Miss scored five of the next six points, but Alabama rattled off six straight to take a 29-19 lead midway through the first half. Hayes then hit a jumper, followed by Bingaya's third three-pointer of the half to cut the deficit to five points. But five straight points from UA pushed their lead back to 10.
Hayes made one-of two free throws, but a layup from Justin Coleman game Alabama its biggest lead of the half, 36-25, with 4:34 to play.
Hayes made a three-pointer and Bingaya followed with a layup. But two free throws by Shannon Hale gave the Crimson Tide a 38-30 halftime lead.
Alabama opened the second half on an 8-2 run. Carey converted a three-point play, but a 7-0 run gave the Crimson Tide a 53-35 lead seven minutes in to the second half. Southern Miss would get no closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
Southern Miss shot 41.5% from the field, but was just 8-of-29 (27.6%) from behind the arc. Alabama shot 57.1% from the floor and 47.4% from three. The Crimson Tide also won the rebounding battle, 36-to-22.
Randolph led all players with 23 points and seven rebounds. Ricky Tarrant scored 18 points and Shannon Hale added a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 11 boards.
Southern Miss returns home next Tuesday, November 25, when it hosts Troy. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
