Alabama 56, Tennessee 38: Rodney Cooper scored 17 points and the Crimson Tide defense clamped down on the host Volunteers in SEC play.

Ricky Tarrant added 14 points and four assists for Alabama (12-3, 2-0 SEC), which has won six straight. Jimmie Taylor added 13 points as the Crimson Tide, who didn't have any problem while playing on the road for the first time since Dec. 16.

Josh Richardson scored 17 points to lead Tennessee (9-5, 1-1), which had a five-game winning streak snapped. The rest of the team scored 21 points as the Volunteers shot 31.1 percent from the floor, including 2-of-17 from behind the arc.

Alabama held Tennessee scoreless for over 13 minutes down the stretch and used an 18-0 run to turn a one-point deficit into a rout. Cooper helped spark the surge with a layup and 3-pointer, Taylor added a pair from the line and a jumper while Levi Randolph capped the spurt with two free throws for a 53-36 lead with 50 seconds left.

The Crimson Tide led for the last 15 minutes of the first half, taking an eight-point lead on Tarrant's second 3-pointer of the half with just over six minutes left and settling for a 29-24 edge at the break. Richardson scored nine points in the first half and added the first eight for the Volunteers in the second as Tennessee took a pair of brief leads, and a pair of free throws by Derek Reese gave the Volunteers a 36-35 lead with 13 1/2 minutes left.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Crimson Tide did not shoot a free throw in the first half but finished 10-of-12. … Cooper had scored 29 points on 11-of-29 shooting in his previous five games. … The Volunteers missed 14 straight shots during the decisive stretch of the game.