Alabama
7-5,0-0SEC
Richmond
10-3,0-0Atlantic 10
Jaden Shackelford Shoots Alabama Past Richmond, 90-78, in Final Game of 2019
12/29/2019 8:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Alabama scored 90 points for its third consecutive game to record the team’s fifth win in its last six games
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Freshman guard Jaden Shackelford poured in a season-high 28 points, fueling Alabama to a 90-78 win over Richmond on Sunday evening inside Coleman Coliseum. It was the Crimson Tide's third consecutive game of scoring 90 or more points – the first time in close to two decades dating back to the 2000-01 season that UA has achieved that feat.
Alabama (7-5) won for the fifth time in its last six games with Sunday's 12-point win as the team finished the month of December with a 4-1 record.
Shackelford scored 14 of his 28 points in each half and knocked down a season-best six three-pointers to help the Tide grab an early lead it never relinquished. In addition, junior forward Herbert Jones recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds to finish as one of four UA players in double figures.
Junior John Petty Jr. continued his hot streak by reaching double figures for the eighth time over the last nine games, finishing with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists, while sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. added 17 points and four assists in the victory.
Richmond (10-3) was led by Jacob Gilyard's 21 points, while Grant Golden finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.
Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"I thought it was a good win. Sometimes you worry about the last game going into Christmas or the first game coming out of Christmas – if you are going to be sharp and locked in. I thought we played well in both of them. Richmond is a quality team, they've been playing well, their record is great. We didn't have the greatest start to the game, which isn't typical, we have been having some pretty good starts. The start wasn't good today, I didn't think we closed the half well. We challenged them at halftime to make sure our start to the second half was better and I thought we were a lot better. I thought we had multiple guys play pretty well. Herb is getting better every game, if he can stay out of foul trouble. When he's not in foul trouble, like last game, he played 38 minutes or something. His value shows when he's healthy and he's getting much healthier for us. This was the first game he hasn't worn the elbow brace. I thought he looked pretty good. It was the first double-double of his career, which is shocking to me. I think he should be a double-double machine if he's healthy and out of foul trouble. Hopefully like Petty, who didn't have any double doubles for 76 straight games and then he gets three out of the next five games. Hopefully Herb starts going on a tear here with a bunch of double-doubles. I did challenge him before the game and told him, you should be tired of JP leading the team in rebounding, you've got to go get some rebounds! He did, so it was good. I was happy with the effort our guys gave."
Team Stats
- Alabama led for all but 3:41 seconds of the contest, taking the lead for good at the 15:07 mark on a Shackelford three-pointer
- Shackelford had a standout night, breaking personal records in points (28), rebounds (8), field goals made (8) and threes made (6)
- Jones earned his first career double-double in 80 games played with 11 points and 10 boards
- Four players finished with double-digit points
- Shackelford and Reese were close to earning double-doubles, both with 10-plus points and eight boards
First Half
- Richmond jumped out to a 10-5 lead at the game's first media timeout
- Alabama came out of the media timeout red-hot, using an 11-0 spurt to take the lead for good at 16-10 with 13:53 remaining before intermission
- Lewis converted a three-point play to extend Alabama's lead to 29-21 with 7:59 remaining in the first half
- A 6-0 Spiders run cut the Alabama lead to just 38-37 with 1:40 to go in the first, but Alabama would carry a 43-39 lead into the break
- Shackelford led the Crimson Tide with 14 points and six rebounds, while Lewis added 10 points
Second Half
- Alabama made three triples in the first five minutes of the second half to stretch its advantage to 54-47 with 15:11 remaining
- A tip-in by Jones at the 12:02 mark gave Alabama a 12-point advantage, 61-49, giving the Crimson Tide its largest lead of the game to that point
- Alabama kept pouring it on, as a Shackelford three-pointer extended the Tide's lead to 67-51, the team's biggest lead of the game, with 10:31 to go in the contest
- A 13-3 surge by Richmond got the Spiders back in the game, as Alabama held tight to a 70-64 with 8:09 to play
- At the game's final media timeout, Alabama owned an 84-72 edge with 3:08 left in the game
- The Tide ended the game hitting 10-of-13 free throws to seal the win
The Tide will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 4, as it begins SEC play with a trip to Gainesville, Fla. to take on the Florida Gators. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m. and will be available on ESPN2.
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