Alabama
8-4
Texas
9-3
Alabama Men’s Basketball Falls to Texas, 66-50, in Vulcan Classic
12/22/2017 10:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Alabama freshman John Petty led the Tide with 14 points in the loss to the Longhorns
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team fell to the Texas Longhorns, 66-50, Friday night in the third annual Vulcan Classic in Legacy Arena. Freshman John Petty led all Alabama scorers with 14 points.
The Crimson Tide (8-4) trailed at the half, 35-28, and never came closer than four points in the second half, while Texas' (9-3) led by as many as 18 late in the contest. The Longhorns blocked nine Alabama shots and held the Tide to 20 percent (3-of-15) shooting from three.
"First off let's tip our hats to Texas, they did an outstanding job," Alabama head coach Avery Johnson said. "They were mentally tougher, they shared the ball a little bit more, they had consistent energy, and we just didn't have it. I'm very disappointed in this loss, in our body language, lack of ball movement and those are all correctable errors. Normally in the last two years, I try to be really positive in these press conferences dating back to any of the losses we've had, but then again I just told the team the truth – that we weren't very good. We didn't have that focus, we missed too many assignments on both ends of the floor and it's not on them, it's on me. We've got to get back to work after the Christmas break."
Both teams shot under 50 percent in the opening minutes of the frame with Texas holding the 23-19 edge at the 7:03 mark, hitting 4-of-10 from downtown. Momentum then shifted in favor of the Longhorns, as Texas used a 10-0 spurt over 2:27 to lead 33-21 with 3:20 left in the half. Texas would go on to take the 35-28 lead at the break, shooting 43.3 percent from the floor (13-of-30).
Texas continued on the attack, gaining back the double-digit lead within a minute of the second half. However, the Tide's defense stepped up forcing four times to induce a 6-0 spark by to cut the lead to 45-41 with 12:57 left to play. Petty then converted a shot from beyond the arc to shrink UT's advantage to 49-44, but Texas answered back with a floater at the 8:43 mark and never looked back, ending the game with 15-2 run.
The Longhorns turned in a 47.8 percent second-half performance from the field, while outrebounding the Tide 17-16 to put away the game.
Alabama sophomore Daniel Giddens had 10 points and six rebounds off the bench, while sophomore Dazon Ingram added six points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Texas was led by freshman Mo Bamba who finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Alabama will return to action when it opens Southeastern Conference play on Saturday Dec. 30, when it hosts Texas A&M in Coleman Coliseum. The contest will tip off at 5 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2.
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