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Riley, Gee lead No. 7 Alabama past Louisiana-Monroe

Nov 29, 2006 - 3:57 AM TUSCALOOSA, Alabama (Ticker) -- Alabama needed the best from Mykal Riley and Alonzo Gee to overcome a pesky foe.

Riley and Gee each scored a season-high 22 points to help seventh-ranked Alabama remain undefeated with a 75-61 victory over Louisiana-Monroe in a non-conference matchup.

A 6-6 junior college transfer, Riley connected on 9-of-15 shots, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range. His 3-pointer with just under 12 minutes remaining capped a 17-8 surge that opened the second half, turning around the Crimson Tide's 37-36 deficit at intermission.

Riley added another shot from the arc at the six-minute mark to make it 60-49 and Alabama (6-0) was never threatened thereafter.

Gee, who scored 16 second-half points, made 7-of-15 shots and pulled down a season-best 12 rebounds. He leads the Tide in scoring at 15.5 points per game.

Richard Hendrix had 18 points and 12 rebounds and Jermareo Davidson added 12 and 12 - his fifth double-double - for the Crimson Tide, who shot 40 percent (26-of-64) from the floor.

"We stepped up," Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said. "We've got a long way to go and we are not where we want to be right now, but there were a lot of positives throughout the game."

Alabama was without start guard Ronald Steele for a second straight game due to tendinitis in his right knee. He is listed as day-to-day.

"Without having Ron it's tough," Hendrix said. "He brings so much to the table. He makes things so much easier for all of us on the court. Not just on offense, but defensively."

Tony Hooper scored 19 points and Jonas Brown chipped in 17 for Louisiana-Monroe (3-4), which shot 33 percent (22-of-65) and made just 8-of-28 from the arc.

"Orlando Early is an awfully good coach," Gottfried said of his former assistant who is in his second season with the Warhawks. "He also knows our program and it's dangerous to play a guy who has been on your staff for four years. You've got to give those guys a lot of credit."

The contest was delayed for roughly 15 minutes in the first half after a police officer collapsed below a basket.