Tide Defeats North Alabama 99-71 in Basketball Exhibition
11/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By: Tyler Roberts
UA Media Relations
TUSCALOOSA- In a final tune-up before regular season play begins, the University of Alabama basketball team used a balanced attack to defeat North Alabama 99-71 at Coleman Coliseum Monday night.
Five players scored in double figures for the Tide led by preseason All-SEC selection Richard Hendrix with 18. Freshman Rico Pickett and senior Mykal Riley each notched double-doubles as Pickett scored 13 points while dishing out 11 assists, and Riley added 13 points to go with 10 rebounds.
Hendrix was quiet in the first half scoring only four points before getting going in the second.
“It was a little frustrating,” Hendrix said. “It was a slow start in the first half for me. I realized at halftime that I had to turn it up a notch for our team to get going. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates giving me the ball.”
The game remained tight throughout the first half with Alabama taking a 43-42 halftime lead on an Alonzo Gee dunk just before intermission. However, the Tide scored the first 26 points of the second half to take a commanding lead and put the game out of reach. Head coach Mark Gottfried liked his team’s effort in the second half.
“We were obviously a lot better in the second half in just about every aspect of the game,” Gottfried said. “We’ve got a long way to go but we’ve got to apply it every day and build the right habits and get better defensively. Overall, I was pleased.”
Alabama’s bench players contributed in a big way tallying 37 points led by freshman Justin Knox with 10. In all, 11 players broke into the scoring column for the Tide.
As a team, the Tide shot 56 percent from the field while holding UNA to just 32 percent. Alabama outrebounded UNA 50-33 and dominated in assists as well with a 25-8 spread.
UNA’s Quinn Beckwith led all scorers with 24 points. He also grabbed seven boards to lead the Lions in that category. Casey Holt was the only other Lion in double figures with 10 points.
Alabama kicks off regular season play on Friday night at Coleman Coliseum against Troy. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.
