Alabama Postgame Press Conference Audio | Ole Miss Postgame Press Conference Audio
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men’s basketball team improved to 15-7 and 4-4 in Southeastern Conference play with a heart-pounding 69-67 double-overtime victory over the Mississippi Rebels before a boisterous Coleman Coliseum crowd of 12,711 Saturday night.
Senior JaMychal Green helped Alabama get to overtime despite fouling out in the extra period.
With the win the Crimson Tide improves to 10-2 all-time in double-overtime games while Alabama head coach Anthony Grant improves to 3-0 in overtime games during his UA tenure. With the loss, Mississippi falls to 14-8 and 4-4 in the SEC.
“I could not be prouder of the effort our guys gave today,” Grant said. “In the first half we really struggled. Give Ole Miss credit, I feel like they shot the ball extremely well and they were tough defensively. At halftime we talked about what we needed to do from a defensive standpoint and I thought from that point forward the defense just continued to get better and better and better over the course of the rest of the game.”
Senior forward JaMychal Green led the Tide with 16 points and 12 rebounds, notching the 24th double-double of his career, while junior forward Tony Mitchell scored 14 points. Sophomore guard Charles Hankerson added 10 points, the second-highest total of his UA career.
Following a Mississippi made free throw to open double overtime, Mitchell reeled off four-straight points to give Alabama a 65-62 advantage at the 1:19 juncture. A Rebel basket less than ten seconds later cut the UA lead to one point before junior guard Andrew Steele deftly scored in the lane as the shot clock was about to expire, giving Alabama a 67-64 lead with 30 seconds remaining.
Following a missed three-point attempt on the ensuing Rebel possession, Alabama built its advantage and closed out the game at the free throw line. All told, the Tide connected on 7-of-9 free throws in the two extra sessions while Mississippi made 1-of-4.
After a first half that featured two ties and seven lead changes, Alabama found itself trailing 33-26 at halftime. Following intermission, Mississippi sustained the lead for the first ten minutes of the second half until a 12-3 UA run fueled by Hankerson gave the Tide a 46-44 lead at the 7:26 mark. Both teams had opportunities to win the game in the closing seconds of regulation and the first overtime but were unable to do so.
Junior guard Nick Williams scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Rebels.
Up next, Alabama travels to Auburn Tuesday, Feb. 7 for the first of back-to-back SEC road contests. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. (CST).
Release and Photos Courtesy UA Athletics
