A sloppy game. Too many turnovers. We lead by 13 in the first half, 10 at the half and by 8 late but let Murray St hang around. MS is a consistent tournament team. They won their league and was a # 12 seed last year. This was a good win for a team still trying to find themselves.
Freshman Kira Lewis is why we won this game. He hit one clutch shot after another to stop Murray St runs. Lewis and Petty made free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
The Alabama men's basketball team battled hard down the stretch to outlast Murray State, 78-72, Monday night in Coleman Coliseum. The Crimson Tide (5-1) knocked down eight consecutive free throws over the final 25 seconds to hold off the Racers (3-1).
Freshman Kira Lewis Jr. led Alabama with another 20-point performance – his third of the year – and sophomore John Petty added 16 of his own. The Crimson Tide continued to improve its free throw percentage by shooting nearly 77 percent while knocking down 23-of-30 attempts.
Murray State was led by preseason OVC Player of the Year Ja Morant who knocked down 38 points on 16-of-29 shooting from the floor.
"We weren't very sharp in terms of taking care of the basketball," head coach Avery Johnson said. "But overall, I'm proud of the way our guys fought through adversity to finish another game against a really good NCAA tournament-caliber team
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