Alabama
9-7,2-2SEC
Auburn
15-1,3-1SEC
Alabama Hands No. 4 Auburn its First Loss of Season With 83-64 Victory In Front of a Sold Out Crowd
1/16/2020 12:02:00 AM | Men's Basketball
It was the Tide’s first win over a team ranked in the Associated Press top four since defeating then-No. 1 Stanford in 2004
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team notched its biggest win of the season as it toppled No. 4/4 Auburn, 83-64, Wednesday night in front of a raucous sold out crowd inside Coleman Coliseum.
It marked the Crimson Tide's first victory over a team ranked in the Associated Press top four since it defeated then No. 1 Stanford in the 2004 NCAA Tournament on March 20, 2004.
Sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. led the team with 25 points to go along with a team-leading three assists. Junior Herbert Jones grabbed 14 points and 12 boards to record his second double-double of the season. Alex Reese shot 3-of-6 from deep and finished with 13 points, while graduate senior Beetle Bolden added 11 off the bench.
Auburn was led by Isaac Okoro's 13 points on the night and Austin Wiley who finished with 10 points and a game-high 13 boards.
Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"Huge win for us. First, I want to thank the crowd and our students. It was unbelievable. It was the first time we've had a sellout since I've been here, so now I know what it can sound like in there. The students were great, everybody was great. That's the kind of environment you want to play in front of. I told our players before the game, 'I think we've worked hard enough over the last nine months to deserve to play in an environment like this, so let's go out there and give it everything you've got.' I thought they did right out of the gate, and I knew we were ready to go. Herb made some huge plays on defense and on the glass right out of the gate. I turned to the assistants like 'Herb came ready to play.' I just think we kept guarding and guarding. The offense struggled at times; it was not our best offensive game. Defensively, though, it might have been our best game of the year. That is how you win big games - defense and rebounding. I was happy with our effort. We only got outrebounded by two, we were down early on the boards, so I thought we did a pretty good job coming back. They had to go small, which helped us rebound the ball a little better when Wiley wasn't in there. Huge win for us, hopefully this will get us going on a win streak."
Team Stats
- Head coach Nate Oats was the first Alabama coach since David Hobbs to win the first game he has coached against Auburn; Hobbs achieved the feat in his first season which was 1992-93 (defeated Auburn 81-78 on Jan. 27, 1993)
- Jones recorded his second double-double of the season, and his career, finishing with 14 points and a team-leading 12 rebounds
- The Crimson Tide made the most out of its opportunities at the foul line, cashing in on 78 percent (29-of-37) of its attempts at the charity stripe; including hitting 25-of-30 (.833) in the second half and 17-of-19 (.895) in the final eight minutes
- Lewis collected his fifth game of 20 or more points and 14th double-figure scoring game – both of which lead the team
- The Crimson Tide never trailed throughout the contest, getting off to an early lead right out of the gate
- Alabama improved to 50-10 when playing Auburn in Tuscaloosa, including a 43-9 mark inside Coleman Coliseum
First Half
- Alabama got the Coleman Coliseum crowd on its feet early as it raced out to a 9-4 lead at the 17:16 mark behind two thunderous dunks in back-to-back possessions from Jones and Reese
- Alabama used an 8-0 burst to extend its lead to 21-11 with 7:47 to go in the half
- The Tigers scored six straight points to trim the Tide's lead to 21-17 with 6:41 to play until halftime
- A Bolden triple capped a 7-0 Crimson Tide run that stretched Alabama's lead to 28-17 with 3:52 left in the first period
- After Alabama led by as many as 14, 36-22, with 1:11 left in the opening stanza, Auburn responded with a quick 5-0 run that resulted in a 36-27 halftime score
Second Half
- Auburn opened the second half on a 12-6 run that cut the Alabama lead to just 42-39 at the 16:09 mark; in all, the 17-6 run spanned halftime and lasted 5:02
- The Tide would slowly begin to pull away and led 55-48 at the under-8 media timeout
- After two Jaden Shackelford free throws, Alabama extended its advantage to 67-54 with 5:00 remaining in the contest
- With 2:16 to go in the game, Lewis completed a three-point play to give Alabama a 77-61 lead
- The Tide finished with its largest lead of the game at 83-64 to give the Tigers their first defeat of the season
The Tide will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 18 as it faces Missouri inside Coleman Coliseum. Tip-off is slated for 2:30 pm and will be available on SEC Network.
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