Alabama
5-1,0-0SEC
Drake
3-2,0-0MVC
Juwan Gary’s Double-Double Helps Lift No. 10/9 Alabama Past Drake, 80-71
11/26/2021 7:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide advance to take on Miami Sunday night at 5:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU
ORLANDO – Alabama forward Juwan Gary earned his first start of the year and recorded his second double-double of his career to help lead the No. 10/9 Crimson Tide to an 80-71 victory over the Drake Bulldogs in the consolation bracket of the ESPN Events Invitational. With the victory, Alabama advances to take on Miami Sunday night at 5:30 p.m. CT (6:30 p.m. ET).
After finishing the opening stanza with only four points and two boards, Gary concluded the contest with a career-best 14 points and tied his career high of 10 rebounds in the victory. Junior Jahvon Quinerly led all scorers with 18 points, while junior Jaden Shackelford added 14 points, five rebounds and four assists on the night.
Strong finish from our guys??#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/8sBIn5bI4x
— Alabama Men's Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) November 26, 2021
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"I am really proud of our guys tonight. We didn't shoot free throws well again. We didn't shoot it well from three again. We turned it over too much, yet we still found a way to get a nine-point win against a quality team. I thought defensively for large stretches of the game, we were pretty good and we played the right way on offense. We had too many turnovers, but guys tried to play the right way and move the ball. For us to bounce back after a disappointing loss yesterday (vs. Iona), the guys could have hung their heads and not played hard. I thought we played hard. I thought Noah also had his best game since he's been here. For large stretches, I thought we were really good but there is still a lot to clean up before we play Miami Sunday."
Team Stats
- It marked the 26th-straight contest Alabama has won when reaching 80 points in a game
- Noah Gurley came off the bench to account for eight points – all of which came after intermission – and three rebounds
- Alabama shot 42.9 percent (27-of-63) from the field and connected on 7-of-19 (38.8 percent) shots from deep
- Quinerly has now reached double digits in three consecutive games and four of his last five, averaging 17.2 ppg over the stretch
First Half
- After falling behind 5-1 to start the game, the Tide went on a two-minute scoring spurt to tie at 8-8
- After Drake took a 14-10 lead, Shackelford scored seven-straight points during a 15-0 run that moved the Tide ahead 25-14 with 7:04 left in the half
- The run continued as UA scored eight of the next 12 points to reach its largest lead of the half at 15 points (33-18)
- In all, the 23-4 Alabama run lasted a total of 8:37
- Drake would respond as it ended the half by scoring 11-straight to cut the lead to 33-29 at intermission
- The Tide secured six steals and four blocks in the half, contributing to 14 points off turnovers
Strong finish from our guys??#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/8sBIn5bI4x
— Alabama Men's Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) November 26, 2021
Second Half
- With UA leading 44-38, Drake went on a 14-6 run to take a 56-52 lead at the 8:56 mark
- The Tide responded by scoring six consecutive points to take the lead for good at 59-57 with just under eight minutes remaining
- With the score tied at 61-all at the 5:16 mark, back-to-back layups by Gary and Gurley jumpstarted an 13-3 run to give Alabama a commanding 74-64 lead with just over two minutes left
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