Alabama Basketball Erases Double-Digit Deficit, Squeaks Past Furman, 83-80

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Behind a balanced scoring effort, the University of Alabama men's basketball team rallied to overcome a 16-point deficit in an 83-80 victory over Furman inside Coleman Coliseum on Tuesday night.

"Big win," Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said postgame. "Furman's a really good team. Our guys showed a lot of fight coming back from being down 16 and I thought our effort to close out the first half and the majority of the second half were much better..."

"I thought we showed a lot of character and fight tonight."

The Paladins jumped out to that 16-point lead, 32-16, with 8:19 left in the first half after a three-pointer from forward Clay Mounce, who ended up with 21 points and two rebounds.

Alabama would slowly climb back, cutting the advantage down to 10 at intermission, 47-37, thanks to wing Herb Jones' nine points and forward Juwan Gary's seven points.

Defensive miscues plagued the Crimson Tide in the opening 20 minutes, allowing Furman to hit over 62 percent from the field on 18-of-29 shooting, including an 8-of-17 clip from three-point range.

"The message at halftime was to come out and make them miss," Jones said. "Make sure that we contested every shot and play a lot harder on the defensive end."

Throughout the second half, Alabama (4-2) began to chip away, grinding out tough possessions for the Paladins, limiting the visitors to only 33 percent on 10-of-30 shooting and 26 percent from deep (5-of-19) across the final 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide took it up a notch in offensive efficiency in the second half, draining 16 of of its 32 attempts, which paved the way for the slow-drawn out comeback.

A three-pointer from forward James Rojas gave the Crimson Tide its first lead of the game with 1:07 remaining, 79-76.

"It was a great feeling," Rojas said. "To hit that and go up three was good... We knew we had to get a couple more stops and it was all over."

Furman (5-2) only made one shot from the field in the final 5:23 of action, going 1-of-11 during that stretch.

Jones finished with a team-high 18 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks, notching yet another double-double. It's his second of the season.

In total, the Crimson Tide had four players in double-figures including guard Jaden Shackelford with 13, and Gary with 10. Alabama shot 30-of-67 on the night, which was good for 44.8 percent.

Rojas and Jones both showcased their range by shooting a combined 4-of-5 from beyond-the-arc.

"Rojas gave us a spark," Oats said. "We don't win the game without his effort tonight."

Alabama dominated the battle on the glass, 49-28. It corralled 21 offensive rebounds compared to Furman's five.

Last time out in a loss to Clemson, the Crimson Tide recorded zero second-chance points, but it was a different story against the Paladins as Alabama won that statistic by a margin of 24 to 3.

Furman guard Mike Bothwell had a game-high 23 points and six boards. Guard Noah Gurley also added 15 points and three rebounds for the visitors from Greenville, S.C.

Instead of the originally-scheduled matchup with No. 6 Houston, the Crimson Tide will take on Western Kentucky on Saturday at 1 p.m (CT) on SEC Network Plus for the second contest that is a part of a four-game home stand.

"I was hoping the Clemson game was a wake-up call," Oats said. "I thought we were a really good team and should've beat Clemson. They're good. I was hoping that was the wake-up call.

"If that's not it, maybe the first half tonight was it."