Alabama dodges upset-minded Furman with 83-80 win

Updated Dec. 16, 2020 12:16 a.m. ET

Associated Press

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Herbert Jones scored 18 points with 12 rebounds and Alabama rallied to beat Furman 83-80 on Tuesday night.

Alabama (4-2) led for just 77 seconds, taking the upper hand on James Rojas' 3-pointer to give the Crimson Tide a 79-76 advantage before a raucous but reduced crowd of roughly 1,500.

Furman's Jalen Slawson missed a 3-pointer following a Paladins timeout. Jones followed with a runner in the lane with 35 seconds to go to seal it for Alabama.

The Paladins still had hope when Jaden Shackelford missed two free throws with 2.2 seconds left. Without a timeout and having to go the length of the floor, Jordan Bruner blocked Mike Bothwell's desperate heave as time expired.

Shackelford finished with 13 points, Rojas 11 and Juwan Gary 10. Despite its 49-28 rebounding advantage, Alabama missed 12 of 25 foul shots.

Furman's fortunes changed in a span of nine seconds when senior Clay Mounce converted a four-point play with 8:21 left before fouling out with 8:12 to go. Mounce was 8-for-11 shooting and finished with 21 points.

Absent the 6-foot-7 forward, Alabama gained even more of an advantage inside and began chipping at its deficit. Coincidentally, Mounce's 3-pointer with 8:21 before halftime gave Furman its biggest lead at 32-16, and the Paladins led 47-37 at intermission.

Bothwell led Furman (5-2) with 23 points.

The teams played a tight contest last year in Tuscaloosa with Alabama coming out on top 81-73.

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