Men's Basketball falls to Cornell

Cornell 71, Alabama 67

Alabama rallied in the second half, after falling behind by as much as 15 points, but couldn't get the ball with a chance to tie late.  JaMychal Green led the Tide with a double-double, 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Cornell led 26-20 after a choppy first half, then sprinted out to start the second, hitting three three-pointers in a row to go up 35-20.  To their credit, Alabama did not give up, and cut it to as close as one point with six minutes left.  But they couldn't get a stop.  With two minutes to go, and again in the last ten seconds, Cornell missed shots while leading by three, but Alabama couldn't get the rebound with a chance to tie.

The big problem was a carryover from the Gottfried years, three-point defense, as Cornell hit ten of eighteen from behind the arc, versus only 4 for 11 for Bama.  Alabama's starting lineup was different from the exhibition games, with Justin Knox replacing Chris Hines inside and, most notably, Andrew Steele getting the start ahead of Mikhail Torrance.  Torrance had sixteen points and three assists off the bench.  Anthony Brock had fifteen, and freshman Tony Mitchell added twelve.