Alabama
2-1,0-0SEC
UNLV
0-3,0-0Mountain West
Alabama Takes Down UNLV, 86-74, in Maui Invitational Second Round
12/2/2020 12:43:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide will take on Providence Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Alabama connected on a season-best15 three-pointers and scored a season-high 86 points total as it blew past UNLV, 86-74, in the second round of the Camping World Maui Invitational on Tuesday night. With the win, the Crimson Tide (2-1) moves into the fifth-place game where it will take on the Providence Friars (2-1) who defeated Davidson in its second round matchup.
Alabama was led by guard John Petty Jr.'s 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 6-of-10 from beyond the arc. He also had six assists compared to one turnover in his nearly 34 minutes of action. The Huntsville, Ala., native led five UA players who reached double digits on the night as Jahvon Quinerly (19), Herbert Jones (16), Jaden Shackelford (13) and Joshua Primo (11) all contributed on the offensive end of the floor.
The Crimson Tide's offense was efficient throughout the contest, as UA connected on 48 percent from the field, 38 percent from beyond the arc, hit 15 three-pointers (15-of-40) and had 21 assists on its 29 makes with only 11 turnovers.
UNLV was led by Caleb Grill's game-high 27 points to lead all scorers.
Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
- "It was a much better effort tonight. We stressed closing the first half and opening the second half. It was a big last four, first four because we ended the half on a 12-6 run to even the game and started the second half on a 6-0 run which forced them to call a timeout. So it was an 18-6 run in all which was much better than (Monday) night. Our big thing is we just need to play harder. I thought some of our guys are figuring out how hard they have to play in a Division I basketball game to get a win. You can't afford to relax or you're giving up a wide-open three. I thought our guys played well and it was nice to finally make some shots. Petty was able to get out of his slump and I'm really happy with the overall game he played. Herb played better than he's played and I thought Jordan Bruner was really good, especially on defense. James Rojas gave us good minutes inside in the second half. A lot of good efforts from our guys tonight."
Team Stats
- Alabama finished the contest with season highs in points, assists and threes made
- 17 of Quinerly's 19 points were scored after halftime as he connected on 5-of-8 shots from the floor after intermission after going just 1-of-3 in the opening stanza
- Shackelford extended his streak to 18 consecutive games scoring in double figures
- The Tide connected on 13-of-19 attempts from the charity stripe compared to UNLV going 3-of-4
- Alabama's bench outscored UNLV's reserves, 14-5
- The Tide scored 16 fast-break points while holding the Rebels to only 9 points in transition
- After the teams were deadlocked at 38-apiece at intermission, Alabama shot 56.7 percent (17-of-30) from the floor in the second half and outscored the Runnin' Rebels, 48-36, over the final 20 minutes
First Half
- Alabama started the game on a 11-3 run, knocking down 4-of-4 from beyond the arc
- UNLV responded with a 9-0 run to take the 12-11 lead with 15:29 remaining.
- After trailing by as many as six points (32-26), the Crimson Tide closed the half by outscoring UNLV 12-6 over the final 7:29 to draw even at 38-38 at the intermission
- John Petty Jr. scored 14 points in the first half on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc to lead UA
Second Half
- Alabama opened the half with back-to-back treys over the first 1:31 to take a 44-38 lead, forcing a UNLV timeout
- In all, the Tide went on an 18-6 that spanned halftime and lasted a total of 9:00
- UNLV battled back and was able to tie the game at 53-53, but the Crimson Tide used an 8-0 run to take a 61-53 lead with 12:00 remaining in the game and never looked back
- Alabama extended its lead to as many as 14 points before settling for the 12-point victory
Up Next
- Alabama and Providence will square off for fifth place in this year's Maui Invitational on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET) on ESPN2.
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