Alabama
Georgia Tech (Charity Exhibition)
Alabama Men’s Basketball Rolls Past Georgia Tech, 93-65, in Charity Exhibition
10/27/2019 3:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide outscored Georgia Tech 53-33 in the second half to run away from the Yellow Jackets
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team used a big second half to defeat Georgia Tech, 93-65, in a charity exhibition game at Coleman Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. All net proceeds from the contest will be donated to the American Red Cross Hurricane Dorian Relief Fund.
Alabama was led by freshman Jaden Shackelford, who scored 21 points off the bench to knock down 6-of-10 from beyond the arc. Thanks in large part to Shackelford's efforts, the Crimson Tide reserves outscored its counterparts by 18, 40-22, in the contest.
Sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. stuffed the stat sheet, compiling 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and eight assists. Junior John Petty Jr. added 15 points, including 13 in the second half, while junior Alex Reese tossed in nine points.
Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
- "I thought our effort was great. We played hard, that's what we are looking for. The pace was a little bit more like we want. We are getting better, less sloppiness, especially early. We struggled against the zone early, but I think eventually we broke them. Our defense was pretty solid and we were able to get some stops which allowed us to get some run outs and kind of open the game up. I think we just kept playing hard. Biggest thing we are looking for today was making sure our effort was there. We ended up having 17 threes. It helps when you got shooters like these two [Kira Lewis Jr. and Jaden Shackelford] spacing the floor out. We will clean up the messy part of it here sometime before conference play, I'm hoping."
Team Stats
- The Crimson Tide shot 32-of-77 (42 percent) from the field and 17-of-37 (46 percent) from beyond the arc. The Tide also cashed in on 12-of-15 (80 percent) of its tries from the foul line.
- The 17 treys were just two off the Alabama single-game record of 19 made three-pointers, which came against East Tennessee State on Dec. 1, 2004. Six different UA players hit shot from beyond the arc in Sunday's contest.
- The Tide assisted on 21 of its 32 made field goals in the game.
- Alabama forced 24 turnovers and outrebounded Georgia Tech, 44-32. The Crimson Tide also registered 40 bench points.
- Alabama made 11-of-18 threes on its way to outscoring the Yellow Jackets 53-23 in the second half.
First Half
- Georgia Tech held a 7-4 lead at the first media timeout, as both teams began to settle into the game. Following the timeout, back-to-back three-pointers by graduate senior Beetle Bolden and Lewis gave Alabama a 10-9 lead, its first lead of the game.
- The Crimson Tide rattled off a 19-9 run, including a 7-0 spurt, that turned a 7-4 Georgia Tech lead into a 23-16 advantage for the Tide with 7:36 remaining in the half. The Tide drained four three-pointers and recorded three steals during the run.
- With 4:41 remaining in the opening half, Bolden was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws to give the Crimson Tide its largest lead of the half, at 30-21. Alabama led 35-25 at the half's final media timeout.
- Lewis paced the Tide with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting while dishing out five assists. Shackelford scored 10 points off the bench in the half, while connecting on 3-of-4 shots from long range, while Bolden added eight points off the bench.
- Alabama shot 31.6 percent from beyond the arc and 80 percent from the foul line in the first. The Tide also forced 10 turnovers and the Alabama reserves accounted for 22 of the team's 40 points.
Second Half
- Alabama opened the second half on a 7-0 run to take a 47-32 advantage. Petty energized the run with a three-pointer and a jumper in the paint.
- With 11:57 to play in the game, Lewis converted one-and-one as the Tide extended its lead to 61-42.
- Reese knocked down consecutive three-pointers to give the Crimson Tide a 67-44 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the contest.
- Alabama took a 26-point lead, 73-46, after Shackelford and junior Herbert Jones connected from deep on back-to-back possessions. A 6-0 spurt by the Yellow Jackets cut Alabama's lead down to 73-52 with 7:42 to go in the contest.
Alabama will open the regular season against Penn on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at Coleman Coliseum. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and will be available on SEC Network+.
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