Releford’s Last Second Three Lifts Alabama Past Ole Miss

February 12, 2014

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WCBI/UA Athletics) – Alabama senior guard Trevor Releford sunk a last second three-point basket to lift the Alabama men’s basketball team over Ole Miss, 67-64. With the win, the Crimson Tide improve to 9-14 (4-7 SEC), while the Rebels fall to 16-8 (7-4 SEC).

“That was a big time shot,” said Head Coach Anthony Grant. “In the second half, and really in the last 10 minutes of the game, Releford really stepped up and put the team on his back. He made some plays that were tremendous.”

(AL.com)

Releford led the way with 26 points, notching his ninth 20-point game and 25th-straight game in double figures. The senior from Kansas City, Mo., played a key role in the Tide’s victory, scoring 14 of their final 17 points.

Alabama also received strong play from their big men, as the forwards combined for 37 of the Tide’s 67 points. Junior forwardNick Jacobs scored 18 points on 9-of-13 (69 percent) shooting and added eight rebounds. Freshman forward Shannon Hale had 15 points, and freshman forward Jimmie Taylor accounted for the other four points, knocking down each of his two shots.

Alabama went on a 13-0 run over the span of 3:28 to turn a 10-9 deficit into a 22-10 lead at the 11:30 mark of the first half. The Tide out-rebounded Ole Miss 23-18 and held the Rebels to a season-low 26 first half points en route to a 33-26 halftime lead.

After holding Ole Miss to 32 percent shooting in the first half, the Rebels shot 50 percent during an 11-0 run to take a 51-47 lead with 9:13 remaining. With 3:32 left, Alabama stormed back behind nine points from Releford to take a 58-56 lead. The Tide’s lead grew to as large as six, but Ole Miss got a three from Marshall Henderson in the final minute and two free throws from Jarvis Summers to tie the game at 64 with 13 seconds left. With one second remaining, Releford let fly with a three and sunk it to give Alabama a 67-64 win.

The Tide continues its SEC campaign on Saturday when they travel to Columbia, S.C., to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks, with tip-off set for 3 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on SEC TV.