Riley leads Tide past Vandy

Ken Rogers
Media General News Service
Published: March 8, 2008

TUSCALOOSA — Alabama basketball coach Mark Gottfried sounded as much relieved as excited when he noted the different ending for the Crimson Tide in Saturday’s regular-season finale against No. 16 Vanderbilt.

“That wasn’t a rerun like it has been all year,” Gottfried said after Alabama again lost a late lead but earned a 78-73 victory in overtime. “That was a different script at the end.”

For Crimson Tide senior Mykal Riley, that script was “Atonement.” Riley, whose inexplicable foul helped tie the game and send it to overtime, made his final game at Coleman Coliseum a pleasant memory.

Riley made Alabama’s first 13 points in overtime to help the Tide (16-15, 5-11 SEC) beat a ranked opponent for the first time since LSU in January of 2007. Riley finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Best of all, Gottfried noted, the senior served as an example for the team’s younger players about putting bad plays behind you and overcoming adversity.

Alabama led, 62-59, with 25 seconds left. The Tide’s Brandon Hollinger, trying to beat the shot clock, drove into the Vandy defense and put up a shot. Freshman A.J. Ogilvy blocked it, triggering a Commodore fast break. Alex Gordon got the loose ball and threw it ahead to Ogilvy, who finished the layup while drawing a foul from Riley — who knew immediately what he had done.

“It was a bad foul,” he said. “We’re up three and he’s shooting a layup.”

Ogilvy made the free throw that tied the game with 20.2 seconds left. It went to overtime when Alabama’s Demetrius Jemison missed badly with one second left. Vanderbilt (25-6, 10-6 SEC) threw a length-of-the-court pass to Ogilvy with eight-tenths of a second remaining. Ogilvy had a step on Yamene Coleman, but he controlled the ball as he ran under the basket. He flicked it up against the glass, but it bounced away without hitting the rim at the buzzer.

“Riley felt awful,” Gottfried said. “We all make mistakes and he knew that one hurt. ... When you have great character, you’re able to bounce back. He responded and carried us in the overtime. It was unbelievable.”

Gottfried said the team had to regroup during the break before the overtime.

“We took 30 seconds in that time to say let that go. It’s over. Our guys have done a good job of staying together and staying positive.”

Shan Foster, who finished regulation with just 14 points, put Vandy ahead to open overtime on a fastbreak layup. Foster scored seven of the Commodres’ 11 points in overtime.

He was no match for Riley, who made three 3-pointers, a layup and two free throws that put the Tide up, 75-68, with 41 seconds remaining.

“This was a new No. 1,” Riley said when asked about his most memorable games in Coleman. “It came at a good time. The last game of the season, on Senior Day.”

“You’ve got to give him (Riley) credit,” said Vanderbilt forward Ross Neltner, who scored 13 points for the Commodores. “He’s got one of the purest strokes in the league. We got to see it tonight.”