Alabama Crimson Tide takes care of Tennessee Volunteers in final minute

Alabama Crimson Tide guard Trevor Lacey (5) drives the ball past Tennessee Volunteers guard Jordan McRae (52) during the first half at Coleman Coliseum. (Kelly Lambert-USA TODAY Sports)

The Tennessee Volunteers rolled into Tuscaloosa looking to earn its first win in the SEC on the young conference schedule. However, after heading into halftime with a 28-24 lead, the Vols were outworked the rest of the way, being outscored 37-44 in the second half.

Alabama thus earned the first conference win of its own, 68-65.

Trevor Lacey headlined four Tide players in double figures, scoring 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting in a whopping 35 minutes of game play. His backcourt partner, Levi Randolph, played nearly as much, scoring 12 points and pulling down six boards in 33 minutes.

Another of the Tide’s four starting guards, Trevor Releford, put of 15 points of his own in 36 minutes.

With Bama’s three stars playing so many minutes, there was not too much room on the stat sheet or the court. However, Andrew Steele made some noise with 11 points off the bench.

Bama ran its record to 9-6 overall and 1-1 in the SEC. Its season has consisted of a series of runs thus far. After opening the year with six straight wins, the squad then stumbled, losing five of its next six. Since, the Tide has won two of three games, with a trip to Mississippi State coming up on Wednesday.

Previously undefeated No. 1 Duke falls to No. 20 NC State in Saturday’s big upset.

What do you think Gamedayrs?