12-31-2017, 04:16 AM
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. â The Alabama men's basketball team began conference play in grand fashion, knocking off No. 5/6 Texas A&M, 79-57, in from of 14,218 fans in Coleman Coliseum. The victory marked the first time the Crimson Tide defeated an Associated Press top-5 opponent since March 20, 2004, when the Tide topped then-No. 1 Stanford, 70-67, in the NCAA tournament.
Alabama (9-4, 1-0 SEC) had four players reach double figures, including freshman John Petty's 18 points, while freshman Collin Sexton (16), junior Donta Hall (17) and sophomore Dazon Ingram (16) all reached double digits in the victory.
"This was a solid performance for us overall, from start to finish," head coach Avery Johnson said. "We had some moments where Texas A&M made a run, which a top-10 team in the country will do, but overall I thought we were very competitive, we were engaged, played with great energy, we fought through adversity, played with maturity and we got a win in front of an unbelievable crowd for a game during the holidays, so that was pretty neat."
The Crimson Tide led wire-to-wire and got off to a hot start, using a 7-0 spurt from opening tip. Alabama eventually stretched its lead to 22-11 at the 11:43 mark, shooting 55 percent from the floor (6-of-11) while holding the Aggies to 27 percent from the field (4-of-15) to begin the game.
Texas A&M (11-2, 0-1) managed to cut the lead to 22-17, using a 6-0 run over the next 1:39. However, the Tide quickly regained its double-digit advantage, responding with a 6-0 run of its own. Despite not scoring a point over the final 4:09 of the half, Alabama was able to take a 35-28 lead into the locker room.
After the Aggies cut the deficit to five, 37-32, in the first minute to begin the second half, Alabama used an 8-0 run to build back its advantage, 45-32, with 17:48 left, and never looked back.
The Crimson Tide snatched the 66-50 lead, thanks to a 7-0 run over 1:34 with 7:29 play to take control of the contest and led by as many as 23 points before settling for the 22-point victory.
Alabama's defense held the Aggies to just 30.0 percent shooting from the field and only 9.5 percent (2-of-21) from beyond the arc. Texas A&M entered the game as the league's top rebounding team, but the Tide won the battle of the boards, 43-42.
Alabama shot 45.6 percent from the field for the game and knocked down 20-of-24 (83.3 percent) from the charity stripe. The Tide finished the contest with nine blocks and seven steals in the contest.
Alabama will travel to Nashville, Tenn., to face Vanderbilt on Tuesday, January 2, as the Tide begins a stretch of three of its next four on the road. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
http://www.rolltide.com/news/2017/12/30/...pener.aspx
Alabama (9-4, 1-0 SEC) had four players reach double figures, including freshman John Petty's 18 points, while freshman Collin Sexton (16), junior Donta Hall (17) and sophomore Dazon Ingram (16) all reached double digits in the victory.
"This was a solid performance for us overall, from start to finish," head coach Avery Johnson said. "We had some moments where Texas A&M made a run, which a top-10 team in the country will do, but overall I thought we were very competitive, we were engaged, played with great energy, we fought through adversity, played with maturity and we got a win in front of an unbelievable crowd for a game during the holidays, so that was pretty neat."
The Crimson Tide led wire-to-wire and got off to a hot start, using a 7-0 spurt from opening tip. Alabama eventually stretched its lead to 22-11 at the 11:43 mark, shooting 55 percent from the floor (6-of-11) while holding the Aggies to 27 percent from the field (4-of-15) to begin the game.
Texas A&M (11-2, 0-1) managed to cut the lead to 22-17, using a 6-0 run over the next 1:39. However, the Tide quickly regained its double-digit advantage, responding with a 6-0 run of its own. Despite not scoring a point over the final 4:09 of the half, Alabama was able to take a 35-28 lead into the locker room.
After the Aggies cut the deficit to five, 37-32, in the first minute to begin the second half, Alabama used an 8-0 run to build back its advantage, 45-32, with 17:48 left, and never looked back.
The Crimson Tide snatched the 66-50 lead, thanks to a 7-0 run over 1:34 with 7:29 play to take control of the contest and led by as many as 23 points before settling for the 22-point victory.
Alabama's defense held the Aggies to just 30.0 percent shooting from the field and only 9.5 percent (2-of-21) from beyond the arc. Texas A&M entered the game as the league's top rebounding team, but the Tide won the battle of the boards, 43-42.
Alabama shot 45.6 percent from the field for the game and knocked down 20-of-24 (83.3 percent) from the charity stripe. The Tide finished the contest with nine blocks and seven steals in the contest.
Alabama will travel to Nashville, Tenn., to face Vanderbilt on Tuesday, January 2, as the Tide begins a stretch of three of its next four on the road. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
http://www.rolltide.com/news/2017/12/30/...pener.aspx