Alabama 80, Western Carolina 74: Levi Randolph scored eight of his team-high 19 points in the final four minutes as the host Crimson Tide rallied to defeat the Catamounts.

Jimmie Taylor had 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his first career double-double for Alabama (2-0), which used a 19-7 run over the final seven minutes to pull out the win. Ricky Tarrant scored 18 points and Shannon Hale added 10 points and three steals for the Crimson Tide, who sank 32-of-42 free throws.

James Sinclair scored a career-high 31 points, including 24 in the second half, to lead Western Carolina (0-2). Rhett Harrelson scored 13 points, Mike Brown finished with 12 points and Torrion Brummitt had seven points and 10 rebounds for the Catamounts, who were whistled for 28 fouls.

Western Carolina took an early 9-7 lead on a 3-pointer by Brown but Alabama went on a 16-2 run to move out to a 23-11 advantage as the Catamounts rolled up 10 fouls and eight turnovers in the first 10 minutes. The Crimson Tide capitalized on early double-bonus situations and sank 18-of-22 free throws en route to a 41-33 halftime edge.

But the Catamounts settled down in the second half and battled back to take a 50-49 on a 3-pointer by Sinclair with 12:34 to go. Western Carolina led by as many as six points 67-61 after another Sinclair 3-pointer, but Alabama came back to take the lead for good 70-69 on a 3-pointer by freshman point guard Justin Coleman from the top of the key with 4:19 to go and pulled away down the stretch behind the free throw shooting of Randolph who finished 11-of-11 at the line.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Michael Kessens, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward who transferred to Alabama after compiling 11 double-doubles his freshman season at Longwood, made his debut with the Crimson Tide and scored five points. ... Western Carolina fell to 2-39 all-time against current members of the SEC. ... Alabama, which had 14 steals in a 82-54 opening win over Towson, finished with seven against the Catamounts.