Alabama Succumbs to Pressure on the Road: Auburn Steals a Victory

With 12 seconds left on the game clock, DeWayne Reed stepped to the line with his Auburn team trailing the Crimson Tide 57-56. After hitting the front end of the one-and-one and knotting the score at 57, Reed's second shot spun around the rim and rolled out into the awaiting hands of Justin Knox.

Knox gave up the ball to point guard Mikhail Torrence, the Tide's best ball handler and leading scorer. With the score tied, Alabama could do no worse than take the game into overtime. They had a definite chance to win the game as time began to drain the last 10 seconds from the clock.

That is when the one thing that could not happen happened. Despite the reliable ball handling skills of Torrence, DeWayne Reed reached in and hit the ball away. It was a surreal moment for Torrence, Anthony Grant, and any Alabama fan watching the game.

Reed took control of the ball and hit a streaking Lucas Hargrove, who immediately took the ball straight to the basket. Hargrove picked the ball up just in front of the foul line and took three steps before launching into the air for an attempted dunk. Justin Knox fouled hard to prevent the easy basket.

Controversy came at the first point of attack. After the steal, Torrence grabbed at Reed, tugging the jersey in an attempt to stop the clock with a quick foul. No call. Then the walk. No call, again. That's not the end of it, either.

Hargrove hit the front end of the one-and-one, missing the second. The rebound was grabbed, and time out was quickly called by Tide forward Tony Mitchell. On the ensuing inbound play from the end line, the ball was thrown down court to an awaiting Justin Knox.

Though Knox caught the ball, it was immediately hit by Auburn defender Frankie Sullivan. The ball rolled out of bounds with .02 seconds left on the clock. The clock actually stopped, showing .02 seconds, and then the time keeper drained the remaining time from the clock.

The referee never review the inbounds play. The game was over. The game was handed to the home team without question by the opposing coach! Anthony Grant walked to the Auburn bench and simply congratulated Jeff Lebo for a hard fought victory.

As a Bama fan, I am livid. Grant has to stand up to the referees and let them know that he is watching the game just as closely and wants the game called fairly and without error. To simply walk away when this game meant so much to the overall standings of the Crimson Tide in the West Division race is ludicrous.

The Crimson Tide now stands at 3-4 in the West. The Mississippi schools are tied at 4-2 and lead the West Division. A win would have kept the Tide within a half game of both schools. This debacle may come back to haunt Alabama and Anthony Grant by season end.

When the race is so close, every victory is critical. Alabama will not win the SEC tournament. They have a chance to win the West Division. I hope when Grant reviews the film, he apologizes to his player and lets them know that he will step up his game as coach, as they have done with theirs on the hardwood.

Alabama will face Florida on Thursday at 6PM. I hope the players and coach come prepared to defend the home court against the Gators.