Michael Kessens, Jonathan Gilling, Eric Jacobsen
Alabama forward Michael Kessens, center, battles for possession of the ball against Arizona State forward Jonathan Gilling, left, and Eric Jacobsen in the first half in the consolation game of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic college baseball tournament Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
(Ed Zurga)
Levi Randolph was voted Alabama's captain before the season, and he willed the Crimson Tide from behind in a 76-71 win over Arizona State on Tuesday in Kansas City.
Alabama (4-1) bounced back from Monday's loss to No. 13 Iowa State and took third place in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic.
Randolph scored 28 points in the win. His floater with 48 seconds left gave Alabama a 70-68 lead. Alabama forced two Arizona State misses after that - including a bad miss from ASU's Jon Gilling on a quick three with 35 seconds left - and hit free throws to seal the win.
Randolph scored 14 points in the final five minutes. Ricky Tarrant was also huge for Alabama, scoring 21 in the game.
Alabama trailed by eight with 11:13 left and by seven with 9:42 left.
It was Alabama's first win away from Tuscaloosa since March 15, 2013 in the SEC Tournament.
"It feels good because we haven't won on the road in a while," Randolph said on the Alabama Crimson Tide Sports Network after the game. "It takes time. We put in a lot of hard work and I'm glad we got the win."
Gerry Blakes scored 21 with nine rebounds for ASU.
This post will be updated.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Down 65-63, Ricky Tarrant drained a three well behind the line to beat the shot clock and give Alabama a 66-65 lead. Rodney Cooper's pass down low to Michael Kessens was deflected, but Kessens did a nice job catching it, then looking out of the triple team to find Tarrant open for the three.
That play was big, even though ASU tied it at 68-all with 1:20 left before Randolph put Alabama ahead for good with 48 seconds left.
BY THE NUMBERS
35 - Levi Randolph has hit all 35 free throws he's attempted this season.
89.7 - Alabama's free throw percentage (26 of 29). When things weren't going well from the field, Alabama kept steady at the line.
7 - Number of threes Arizona State hit after hitting 14 on Monday in a loss to Maryland.
GAME BALLS: Levi Randolph was again Alabama's main man, scoring 28 with three rebounds, three steals and carrying the Tide down the stretch.
When Randolph wasn't hitting, Ricky Tarrant was, with his season-high 21 points. He also took control at the point late.
ASU's Gerry Blakes scored 21 to lead the Sun Devils, but took 20 shots to do so. He was a big reason ASU led for the middle 20 minutes of the game.
COACHSPEAK: "Our guys never wavered and that's the thing I'm most proud of. It was a gritty win. Overall, just a great effort and I'm proud of our team." - Alabama's Anthony Grant to Chris Stewart on the postgame radio interview.
PLAYER SPEAK: "Coach always tells us different guys are going to step up. Ricky's one of those guys. A lot of people are going to be looking out for him because he's going to step up every night." - Alabama's Levi Randolph on the postgame radio show about Ricky Tarrant.
UP NEXT: Alabama hosts South Florida on Dec. 2 at 8 p.m. CT