Alabama Falls at No. 3 Tennessee, 71-68, in Contest That Went Down to the Wire

The Alabama men’s basketball nearly pulled off an improbable upset, but could not overcome a 13-point halftime deficit and fell at No. 3/3 Tennessee, 71-68, in front of a sellout crowd of 21,957 at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Sophomore guard John Petty Jr. put on a show, finishing with 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the floor and 6-of-9 from deep, while senior Donta Hall collected his league-leading ninth double-double of the year as he finished with 16 points and 12 boards in the loss. Hall also recorded his 700th career rebound in the process, becoming just the fifth player in program history to collect 700 rebounds (705) and 200 blocks (206) in his career.

The Tide (11-6, 2-3 SEC) was down by 12 points to the Volunteers (15-1, 5-0) at intermission, but began the second half on a 13-0 run to take its first lead of the game.

Trailing by one point, 69-68, in the final seconds, Alabama had the ball and a chance to win. However, Petty was whistled for a travelling violation as he made his move to the basket, giving Tennessee possession. The Volunteers sunk both free throws and freshman Kira Lewis Jr.’s half court heave went unanswered, resulting in the final score.

Alabama will be returning home to play No. 18/20 Ole Miss on Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 8 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on SEC Network