TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -- Buried on the bench with foul trouble,
Rod Grizzard returned to the game with a message for his point
guard.
|  | | Alabama's Rod Grizzard soars above Kentucky's Keith Bogans on his way to a 25-point effort. |
"I was like, 'Tarik, get me the ball,"' said Grizzard after
scoring 11 consecutive points to rally Alabama to a 70-60
victory over Kentucky on Tuesday night. "It was my time."
Tarik London took his advice, and Grizzard hit a 3-pointer and
eight consecutive free throws in the final five minutes.
Grizzard finished with 25 points and a career-high 11 rebounds
despite picking up his fourth foul with 13 minutes left and going
to the bench until the 6:39 mark.
The Crimson Tide (15-3, 4-2 Southeastern Conference; No. 15 ESPN/USA Today; No. 18 Associated Press) closed the
game on a 23-6 run after Kentucky (10-7, 3-2) took its largest
lead.
The Wildcats led 54-47 on Erik Daniels' fastbreak layup with
5:49 left.
Alabama's Terrance Meade then hit two free throws and Grizzard followed with his third 3-pointer and six consecutive free throws.
"I thought that was the shot of the game," Alabama coach Mark
Gottfried said of the 3-pointer. "His 3-pointer got our emotions
back in the game."
Grizzard capped a 13-0 run with a jumper. Taking over the game,
he said, is "what I do."
"That's what they look to me for," he said. "Either we're
going to go down shooting or we're going to win it."
Grizzard, the league's leading free-throw shooter, was 10-for-11
from the line and 3-for-3 from 3-point range. He had eight free
throws in the final 4:08.
"We tried to keep the ball out of his hands the best we
could," Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said. "We tried to keep him
from taking a shot. Obviously, we didn't do good on defense."
The Crimson Tide shot 54 percent from the floor while holding
Kentucky to 43 percent. Alabama dominated in rebounding, 36-22, and
was 19-for-25 from the line in the second half.
The ending was a marked change from the final minutes of
Alabama's last game, when the Crimson Tide trailed Arkansas by
seven points late. The Razorbacks scored the game's final 22 points
after that.
"It was a great win," Gottfried said. "I think our players
are growing up. I think we've got that Arkansas game behind us, I
really do. I think it says something when we can bounce back real
quick like that."
The Wildcats have lost two consecutive since a seven-game winning
streak. Alabama had lost 11 of the last 13 in the series.
Doc Martin had 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting, and Gerald Wallace
and Erwin Dudley each had 10 points for Alabama.
Tayshaun Prince had 15 points for the Wildcats and Keith Bogans
had 12 of his 14 in the second half before fouling out late.
Huntsville native Marvin Stone had 11 points and Jason Parker
added 10.
It took Kentucky more than 10 minutes to reach double digits in
scoring in the first half. The Crimson Tide erased Kentucky's only
lead of the half, at 9-8, with a 10-0 run. Martin had a pair of
3-pointers and Grizzard added a third.
Alabama led 32-25 at halftime.
London, a senior who had seven assists, said the season-high
crowd of 14,434 played a big part in the game.
"It was the most electric crowd I've ever played in front of,"
he said. "When we got down and needed them to gave us a big push,
and they did that. They paid big dividends for us."
The game marked the return of former Alabama coach David Hobbs to Coleman Coliseum. Hobbs, the Crimson Tide coach from 1992-98, is a Kentucky assistant.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Kentucky Clubhouse
Alabama Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Gerald Wallace blocks Keith Bogans and Rod Grizzard goes the other way for the pull-up jumper.
avi: 1087 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Rod Grizzard tosses the alley-oop to high-riser Gerald Wallace.
avi: 1180 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Tarik London penetrates the defense and finds a cutting Gerald Wallace for the jam.
avi: 887 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Gerald Wallace drives the lane and dumps the ball off to Kenny Walker for the two-handed stuff.
avi: 1022 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Kentucky forward Jason Parker bricks the wide-open power jam.
avi: 1318 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
The Wildcats show good ball movement by working the ball to Marvin Stone for the layin.
avi: 482 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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