Alabama Men's Basketball to Close November Tuesday

The Alabama men’s basketball team will play its final game in the month of November when it hosts the Lamar Cardinals on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Coleman Coliseum.

The Crimson Tide is off to a 5-0 start on the campaign following a 59-46 win over Charleston Southern on Friday night. It is the second straight year Alabama has won its first five games to start the season, which marks the first time UA has achieved the feat in back-to-back years since the 1995-96 and 1996-97 campaigns.

Junior guard Trevor Releford continues to pace the Tide after scoring 22 points in the win over the Buccaneers last Friday. He leads the team and ranks third in the Southeastern Conference with an average of 18.6 points per game. Over his last two games alone, the Kansas City, Mo., native has accounted for 47 points (23.5 ppg), and has shot 15-of-25 (.600) from the floor and 10-of-13 (.769) from three-point range.

Sophomore guards Rodney Cooper (15.5 ppg) and Trevor Lacey (14.8 ppg) also average in double figures coming into the Lamar contest. Furthermore, Lacey leads the team with 4.2 assists per game (21 assists and only five turnovers), while Cooper is the Tide’s top rebounder at 4.0 boards per contest.

Lamar comes into the match-up sporting a 1-5 record this season. Most recently, the Cardinals lost at Arkansas State, 93-53, on Sunday afternoon. Lamar is led by true freshman Rhon Mitchell, who tops the team with 11.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest. Senior Donley Minor is the only other player to average double-figure scoring, contributing 10.2 points a game.

Head coach Pat Knight, coming off a year in which he guided the Cardinals to 23 wins, a conference title and an automatic berth in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, lost four starters and seven letter winners off last year’s 23-12 squad. This year’s team features nine newcomers and six freshmen.

Alabama will be looking to go unbeaten in the month of November for a second consecutive season, after going 7-0 last November. In all, head coach Anthony Grant’s squads have won 13 consecutive games in the month of November – a streak that dates back to the 2010-11 campaign.

The game can be heard live on the Crimson Tide Sports Network, with Chris Stewart and Bryan Passink on the call on 95.3 FM, The Bear.