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Kelvin Sampson reaches out to Alabama officials following controversial ending
By Keith Farner
Published:
Kelvin Sampson has reached out to Alabama Athletics Director Greg Byrne and men’s basketball coach Nate Oats following a controversial ending to the Alabama-Houston game on Saturday.
Byrne tweeted that Sampson called him and Oats and apologized. Oats waited at center court to shake Sampson’s hand as the Houston coach went after the officials.
No. 9 Alabama knocked off No. 14 Houston 83-82 thanks to a JD Davison dunk, and a controversial defensive stop. Houston had 3 chances to score, but they all missed, including one that Davison blocked out of bounds as the clock ran out.
That’s when Sampson and several players became incensed, and followed the officials off the court, arguing that the final shot was goaltending. Houston’s leading scorer Marcus Sasser was held back by teammates.
Just received a call from @CoachSampsonUH, someone I’ve known since I was in high school. He sincerely apologized for how things ended after last night’s game in Coleman. He also called @nate_oats. Thanks Coach Sampson for reaching out.
— Greg Byrne (@Greg_Byrne) December 13, 2021
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
