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Alabama basketball was unable to dig its way out of an early grave and thus passed up a golden opportunity to resurrect its season Saturday against No. 3 Tennessee. After erasing a double-digit deficit at the half, The Crimson could not complete the comeback, suffering a heartbreaking 71-68 defeat inside Thompson-Boling Arena.

With Alabama trailing 69-68, Crimson Tide guard John Petty Jr. was called for traveling with 3.2 seconds remaining. Tennessee’s Lamonte Turner then made both his free throws at the other end before Alabama’s Kira Lewis Jr.’s desperation heave at the buzzer sailed over the backboard.

The traveling call was a cruel ending to what was a stellar afternoon for Petty. The sophomore matched a career-high with 30 points, including 20 in the second half. Petty exorcized his usually road-game demons, shooting 11 of 18, including 6 of 10 from beyond the arc.

Trailing 44-32 at halftime, Alabama began the second half on a 13-0 run to take its first lead of the game on a layup from Herbert Jones with 16:39 seconds remaining. The first eight points of that run came from Petty.

However, a dreadful night from the free-throw line was ultimately the Crimson Tide’s undoing. Alabama made just 8 of 18 free throws, including just 4 of 13 in the second half as it had a chance to capitalize on a struggling Tennessee team. After the Volunteers shot a blazing 60 percent at the half, Alabama limited them to just 29 percent from the floor after the break.

The Crimson Tide was equally as cold in the first half as it made just four of its first 18 shots from the floor and turned the ball over seven times in opening 12 minutes. Alabama (11-6, 2-3 in the SEC) shot 46 percent in the second half but failed to make a basket over the game’s final 3:16, allowing Tennessee (16-1, 5-0) to scratch out the victory.

The Crimson Tide was also hindered by 13 turnovers on the afternoon which led to 13 points for the Volunteers. Tennessee outscored Alabama 40-30 in the paint.

Donta Hall recorded his SEC-leading ninth double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. It was the senior’s sixth double-double in the past seven games. With his seventh rebound of the game, Hall became the fifth player in Alabama history to record least 700 rebounds and 200 blocks in a career.

Tennessee was led by forward Grant Williams, who scored 21 points on 8 of 17. Admiral Schofield scored 12 points and was 3 of 3 from beyond the arc.

Alabama will return home to face No. 18 Ole Miss (14-3, 4-1) on Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU. Last season, Ole Miss beat Alabama 78-66 in Oxford, Miss.

The Rebels boast two of the SEC’s top 10 scorers in guards Breein Tyree (17.2 points per game) and Terence Davis (16.1 ppg).

Following the game against Ole Miss, Alabama will travel to Waco, Texas to take on Baylor on Saturday as part of the SEC Big 12 Challenge.