It wasn't pretty, but it was a win.  After falling behind early, the Crimson Tide men's basketball team was able to fight back and avoid a major upset loss to the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech.  With a final of 65-53 in favor of Alabama, the Tide recorded their lowest point total of the season.  And yet, it was enough for the win, pushing Alabama to a 6-2 record with plenty of big out-of-conference games left, including Tuesday's game at Wichita State.

The Tide found themselves in a hole early against a Golden Eagle team that dominated the boards throughout the game.  Tennessee Tech led 6-0 right out of the gate, and pushed their lead to 25-12 with 8:30 left in the 1st half.  Alabama was able to respond and take a 37-36 lead into halftime, due in large part to making 12 of 18 free throws.

The 2nd half was tough for both teams offensively.  Alabama shot just 33.3% from the field, including just 1 of 6 on 3-pointers.  However, Tennessee Tech was even worse, shooting 22.2% with just one 3-pointer on 9 tries.  Free throws proved again to be the difference.  Early foul trouble for the Golden Eagles led to 17 free throw attempts for the Tide in the half, 13 of which they made.  The Tide made 25 of 35 free throws for the entire game, as opposed to just 12 of 20 for Tennessee Tech.  The Golden Eagles scored just 17 points in the 2nd half.  After some initial back-and-forth, the Tide grabbed a 10-point lead with 4:57 left, and Tech never got any closer than 8 points the rest of the way.

Rodney Cooper led the Tide with 23 points. It was the third 20-point outing for the senior guard this season after scoring 27 agianst Iowa State and 20 against South Florida.  Levi Randolph was the only other Tide player in double figures as he added 10 points, and his 5 assists led the team.  Jimmie Taylor led Alabama with 6 rebounds.

Junior guard Ricky Tarrant began cramping during the 1st half of the game and never returned.  During his postgame press conference, head coach Anthony Grant said that the team will know more about Tarrant's status on tomorrow.  Sophomore forward Michael Kessens made his first start for the Tide, taking the spot normally manned by Shannon Hale.

Alabama has a major test on the road against Wichita State on Tuesday.  The Tide will return to Coleman Coliseum for a 5-game home stand that begins with Stillman on December 19th.

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