Despite Randolph’s Career Night, Alabama Basketball Drops Final Home Game 82-74 to Ole Miss
In the final home game of the season, the Alabama men's basketball team endured what has become an all too familiar outcome as they fell to the Ole Miss Rebels by a score of 82-74. The loss assures the Tide of a 2nd straight year of finishing below .500 in conference play. The loss came despite a terrific night for team captain Levi Randolph, playing in likely his final game in Coleman Coliseum. Randolph scored 32 points (1 short of his career high) and went 17 of 17 in free throws, a program record. Still, it was not enough to stop a desperate Ole Miss team that needed a win after back-to-back losses put their NCAA Tournament hopes in jeopardy.
Most of the game featured a back-and-forth contest between the two squads. Alabama jumped out to a 8-0 lead early, aided by the extra energy of Senior Night. As the game slowed down, Ole Miss clawed back. A series of mistakes near the end of the half for Bama, and a terrific buzzer-beater by LaDarius White made the score 30-27 in Alabama's favor at halftime.
The second half looked like it would be more of the same until a 12-0 run by the Rebels near the 11:00 mark gave them a lead they would not relinquish. Alabama's offense was able to put up 44 points in the half, but the Rebels were able to match them bucket-for-bucket down the stretch, preventing any serious run for the Tide.
As part of Senior Night, former walk-on Dakota Slaughter started for the first time in his career. He chipped in eight points and two rebounds in 21 minutes. Senior Rodney Cooper, who like Randolph has scored over 1,000 career points at the Capstone, had a nice game as well, scoring 14 points for the Tide. Forward Jimmie Taylor had a double-double (13 pts, 11 rebs) but was held out significant minutes due to foul trouble.
Alabama wil finish out their season with a trip to College Station this Saturday to take on Texas A&M. The Tide defeated the Aggies by double figures in the first SEC game for both teams this season, but fate has since them in opposite directions since then as the Aggies have a legit shot at the NCAA Tournament. The Tide will follow that with a trip to Nashville for the 2015 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament.
Before the game, Dakota Slaughter, Rodney Cooper and Levi Randolph were honored with their families: