Alabama Basketball Drops First Road Game to Rhode Island, 93-79
A turnover-riddled Alabama basketball squad lost its first road game of the Nate Oats era Friday night to Rhode Island, 93-79.
After three games, the Oats Boat has officially hit troubled waters. Alabama has lost twice despite all being winnable.
Turnovers once again plagued the Crimson Tide, which gave up the ball 22 times to the Rams. Those costly turnovers resulted in 33 points for Rhode Island (2-1), and ultimately led to Alabama’s demise.
“We have to quit turning over the ball,” Oats said. “We had way too many turnovers in the first half. When we didn’t turn the ball over, we were able to get our defense set and started playing a little better on that end of the floor. That really helped us make the comeback in the second half.“
Kira Lewis, Jr., led the Crimson Tide with 21 points, and also registered five rebounds and four assists. The sophomore guard was also a perfect 4-4 from the line.
After a one-game absence due to an injury to his left elbow, junior guard Herbert Jones scored 17 with three rebounds and an assist. Redshirt-freshman Javian Davis, who had a lightning performance against Florida Atlantic on Monday, scored 11 points and a team-leading seven rebounds in only 23 minutes of play.
Alabama jumped out to an early 6-0 lead, playing with consistent rebounding. In the first three minutes, it looked like the Crimson Tide would be off to a great start.
It was until the Rams went on a 15-3 run, decidedly taking the lead. After Alabama cut the lead to one, Rhode Island went on an 11-0 run.
Every time the Crimson Tide gained any sort of momentum, the Rams seemed to find a way to counteract it, usually by forcing Alabama to turn the ball over.
At its peak, Rhode Island led Alabama 42-20 with just over four minutes left in the first half.
At the half, the Crimson Tide trailed the Rams 50-33.
“I don’t think we handled adversity well in the first half,” Oats said. “Our shots weren’t falling – I think we went 0-for-10 from three – and had a bunch of turnovers and couldn’t hit our free throws. I think we let it affect our effort on the defensive end.”
Sophomore guard Kira Lewis, Jr., led the Crimson Tide with 21 points at Rhode Island
Alabama Athletics
The second half was much of the same. Alabama formed a solid comeback attempt, pulling within five points of Rhode Island with three-and-a-half minutes left. However, missed jumpers and poor ball handling resulting in turnovers began to take their toll.
The Rams eventually went on a 12-3 run to close out the win.
“We made a couple of bad fouls during that stretch,” Oats said. “I thought our guys did a pretty good job of staying with it in the second half. We just didn’t have anything left.”
For the Rams, two players stood out: junior guard Fatts Russell tallied up 22 points with five rebounds and five assists, while senior guard Jeff Dowtin scored 21 with four rebounds and two assists.
Both Russell and sophomore guard Tyrese Martin had four assists each, and contributed to Rhode Island’s total of 13 steals. In comparison, Alabama had four.
The Crimson Tide did shoot 75 percent from the free-throw line, improving on its last two outings by going 12-16 from the line.
It also scored 50 points in the paint and had a 40-31 advantage in rebounds.
“If we were down at the half by six or eight points instead of 17, then we have a better chance to win that game,” Oats said. “We have got a lot to learn. I think the schedule we are playing is a good one – we are challenging ourselves early and it will make us better.”
Up next for Alabama, the Crimson Tide return to Tuscaloosa to take on Furman on Nov. 19. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip (SEC Network+).
