Alabama 59, Arkansas 56

2/27/2008 9:31 PM

By JOHN ZENOR
AP Sports Writer

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -Demetrius Jemison scored a career-high 19 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and made two free throws with 10 seconds left to lift Alabama to a 59-56 win over Arkansas on Wednesday night.

The Crimson Tide (15-13, 4-9 Southeastern Conference), which had lost four of five games and two in a row, made 6-of-8 free throws over the final two minutes to move into a four-way tie for third place in the Western Division.

Senario Hillman hit 1-of-2 from the line with 38 seconds to play to give the Tide a 56-50 lead, matching its biggest of the game. Then, Sonny Weems scored twice off offensive rebounds for Arkansas (18-9, 7-6) to make it 57-54 with 12 seconds remaining.

The Razorbacks quickly fouled Jemison after he received the inbounds pass, and he nailed both free throws. Jemison lost his starting job in the previous game after showing up late for a practice, but regained the role for this one.

His previous career high was 15 points and he topped his rebounding best by one.

Arkansas has dropped four of its last five games and hasn't cracked 60 points in its last two, including a 63-58 loss at Kentucky. The Razorbacks had won the previous meeting in overtime. Gary Erwin, though, scored more points in overtime in that game (seven) than he did in finishing with six in the rematch.

Richard Hendrix added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Tide, and also had five steals. Alabama made only 2-of-10 3-pointers and Alonzo Gee scored a season-low one point. Gee only attempted two shots.

Weems led Arkansas with 17 points and eight rebounds but made only 6-of-15 shots and had four turnovers. Darian Townes also scored 17 points for the Razorbacks while the rest of the team combined for just 22 points.

Arkansas was even colder from beyond the 3-point arc than Alabama, making 3-of-21 attempts.

The teams struggled badly on offense in the first half, when Alabama led 26-23. They were a combined 1-of-16 in 3-pointers and 6-of-17 from the free throw line.

Steven Hill's three first-half blocks made him the fourth player in SEC history to reach 300 for his career, joining LSU's Shaquille O'Neal, Auburn's Kyle Davis and Georgia's Lavon Mercer. He finished with four blocks in the game and 301 in his career.