Alabama beats South Carolina, sits alone in second place

The Alabama men's basketball team defeated South Carolina 68-58 in Coleman Coliseum behind a game-high 17 points from sophomore Trevor Lacey. The win, paired with a blowout loss for Kentucky on Saturday, gives Alabama sole possession of second place in the conference with a 9-3 record.

The Crimson Tide enjoyed one of its best shooting stretches of the season to begin the game. Behind a pair of three-pointers by Lacey and redshirt reshman Retin Obasahan, Alabama hit six of its first 12 shots beyond the arc with 8:06 still remaining the first half. But the team wouldn't make another long distance shot the remainder of the game.

Alabama's lead stretched to 35-13 but allowed the Gamecocks to close the first half on an 11-0 run and cut the lead to just 11 points.

The two teams went back and forth to begin the second half. South Carolina briefly cut the lead to 10 points at 39-29, but Alabama put the game away with a 14-4 run that would extend the lead out to 20 points.

The defense limited the Gamecocks' scoring by blocking seven shots and forcing 20 turnovers. The 12 steals matched a season-high for takeaways. South Carolina also struggled from the field, shooting under 30%.

Despite a game it was supposed to win, Alabama needed to beat South Carolina in order to keep NCAA Tournament hopes alive. After a brutal performance at Auburn, the Tide has won three straight and re-joins the bubble discussion. And with the next three opponents - Mississippi State, LSU, and Auburn - sporting a combined 11-25 conference record, Alabama should be 12-3 when it travels to Florida on March 2.

This team has preached a game-by-game approach, but if the Gators lose any of its next three games - at Missouri, Arkansas, at Tennessee - the Crimson Tide will control its own destiny for a SEC regular season championship. While the odds will be stacked against them, it's a much better position than most people expected from them 10 days ago.