Alabama
9-3,4-0SEC
Auburn
6-6,0-4SEC
Alabama Makes Plays Down Stretch to Pull Out a 94-90 Thriller at Auburn
1/9/2021 12:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Joshua Primo scores 22 and Jordan Bruner has 20 to lead the Crimson Tide to its first win on the Plains since 2015
AUBURN, Ala. – Guard Joshua Primo scored 22 points while forward Jordan Bruner added 20 to lead the Alabama men’s basketball team to a 94-90 thriller over Auburn on Saturday afternoon. In a contest that featured 16 lead changes and nine ties, it was the Crimson Tide who made the plays down the stretch to secure the win.
Auburn held a 90-89 lead with 2:17 left to play following an Allen Flanigan putback to give his team the one-point lead. From there, Alabama went 1-of-2 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the foul line while holding the Tigers to 0-of-2 shooting and forcing three turnovers.
With the win. Alabama (9-3, 4-0 SEC) captured its first victory in Auburn Arena since 2015 (lost five straight coming in) and became the third team in the SEC and 34th team NCAA history to capture 1,700 wins in program history.
Primo (4-of-8) and Bruner (3-of-6) combined to shoot 50 percent (7-of-14) shots from deep while the rest of the team combined to shoot 3-of-18 from beyond the arc. Guard/Forward Herbert Jones collected a career-high 19 points to go along with eight rebounds and five of Alabama’s 15 steals on the night. Guards Jaden Shackelford (11) and John Petty Jr. (10) also reached double figures.
Auburn was led by Sharife Cooper’s 26 points and nine assists in his first appearance of the season for the Tigers.
Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
“We knew it was going to be tough to come in here and get a win. They are a program with a lot of pride here recently and are in dire need of a win. Getting Sharife eligible to play helped them out and makes them a completely different team. I thought it showed a lot of character for our guys to come in here and have zero days of preparation on how to play him because we didn’t know he was officially playing until shortly before the game. Our guys were able to overcome that and pull together. I think we got stops on the last five possessions on the defensive end with some big steals and deflections. I think we got a couple of offensive rebounds, including the putback by Petty which was huge down the stretch. I think our guys are learning how to win close games. It’s something we struggled with last year and now guys are making tough plays down the stretch.”
Team Stats
- Alabama shot 41.1 percent from the field and knocked down 10-of-32 (.313) from the three-point line while Auburn shot 46.8 percent from the field and just 8-of-27 (.296) from beyond the arc
- The Tide made a difference on the boards, owning a 42-39 edge on the glass and 15-8 in offensive rebounds which helped UA own a 16-9 lead in second chance points
- Alabama managed 15 steals and forced the Tigers into 20 turnovers that resulted in a 21-13 edge in second chance points and a 14-10 lead in fast break points
- Alabama lead for a total of 31:15 and Auburn just 4:09, with the Tide leading by as many as 10 points early in the game
- Primo finished 8-of-8 from the foul line while adding five rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals
- Petty matched Jones with eight rebounds, while Bruner and Shackelford finished with seven each
- Alabama improves to 8-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points
- Jahvon Quinerly (13.0 ppg, 3.2 apg) missed his second straight game with a medical condition
First Half
- Alabama started the contest on an 11-2 run over the first four minutes of the game, as Primo scored nine points including three three-pointers
- Auburn came back with a quick spurt to cut the game to 14-12 before the Tide pushed the lead up to 23-15 with 8:17 remaining in the first half
- With UA leading 28-18, the Tigers went on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 28-28 at the 3:05 mark
- Auburn took its first lead of the game at 33-32 with 2:01 left in the opening stanza, but the Tide finished the half on top 37-36
- Primo scored 14 first-half points knocking down 4-of-6 from the three-point line and grabbing four rebounds
Second Half
- Alabama opened the second half on a 6-0 run, but Auburn came back to take its first lead of the second half at 46-45 with 15:53 remaining
- Herbert Jones’ one-handed dunk over an Auburn defender tied the game at 52-52, one of the game nine ties on the day
- With the game tied at 61-all, UA scored four straight points to take the 65-61 lead with 10:41 left to play
- The Tide held a 74-72 advantage with just over eight minutes left, but went on an 8-2 spurt to grow its lead to 82-74 with 6:26 left to play
- However, the Tigers responded with a 10-0 run to take the 84-82 lead at the 4:43 mark
Gallery: 01-09-21 MBB vs Auburn
Up Next
- The Crimson Tide remains on the road when it travels to Lexington, Ky., to take on the Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday, Jan. 12. The contest is part of Super Tuesday on ESPN and is slated for an 8 p.m. CT (9 p.m. ET).
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