Alabama
6-1,0-0SEC
Miami
4-3,0-0ACC
Second Half Offensive Explosion Leads to 32-point Victory Over Miami in ESPN Events Invitational Final Round
11/28/2021 9:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide shot 64 percent from the field and 77 percent from three (13-of-17) in second half to roll to a 96-64 win over the Hurricanes
ORLANDO – Alabama used a dominant second half to roll to an impressive 96-64 win over Miami on Sunday in the final round of the ESPN Events Invitational. The Crimson Tide outscored the Hurricanes by a score of 63-34 over the final 20 minutes of play, as UA finished the event with a 2-1 record.
The Crimson Tide (6-1) was led by senior Keon Ellis' 22 points on the night, 17 of which came in the big second half. Junior Jaden Shackelford finished with 15 on the strength of five treys while freshman JD Davison had his first career double-double and finished four rebounds shy of a triple-double, with 13 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds. Juwan Gary also reached double digits for a second-straight game, adding 13 points and five rebounds.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"I thought our second half was as good as any we've played this year. It was good to get that under our belt before we left for Seattle. I thought our defensive intensity was terrific. We tell our guys all the time to just lose themselves in the game, the offense will take care of itself. Our defense really started to pick up at the end of the first half. We made shots and got the ball moving. I think we had four assists and nine turnovers in the first half and turned that into 18 assists and four turnovers in the second half. I'm happy for a lot of our guys and I thought our play was a lot better. It would have been nice to beat Iona and get in the championship game, but sometimes you have to take a loss to learn from stuff. I thought as the tournament went along, we improved throughout. Continued improvement is what you want to see at this point."
Team Stats
- The Tide is now 4-2 all-time in the ESPN Events Invitational tournament in Orlando, going 2-1 and winning the consolation bracket in both 2015 and 2021
- Ellis collected career highs of 22 points 5-of-6 three-point shooting – hitting all five of his second half attempts
- UA's bench outscored its counterparts by a 34-9 total
- In two starts over the Tide's last two games, Juwan Gary is averaging 13.5 points and 7.5 rebounds
- After going down by a score of 27-18 in the first half, Alabama outscored Miami 38-10 over a span of 15:58 that began at the 6:22 mark of the first half and ended at the 10:24 mark of the second half
- Alabama had 11 players contribute points to tonight's 96-64 win
A double-double and the ?? for @jddavison10 with 13 points, 10 assists and six rebounds @Tyrese_Ellis00 recorded a career-high 22 points while adding four rebounds and two assists #RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/LWJYzPkU3S
— Alabama Men's Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) November 29, 2021
First Half
- Davison paced the first half, making 4-of-5 field goals for eight points and adding two assists and a steal
- After a 13-2 run gave Miami its largest lead of the half (27-18) with 6:22 to play, UA staged a 15-3 run to take the team into the break with a three-point lead
- Miami was unable to score from the floor in the final six minutes of play, capturing all three of its points from the free throw line
- Alabama made 14-of-33 field goals to shoot 42.4 percent in the half. Miami was 11-of-27 for 40.7 percent
- UA led in rebounds, 22-15, and bench points, 14-5
Second Half
- Expanding upon a 5-0 run that concluded the first half, Alabama added three consecutive baskets to post 12 unanswered points
- In a little over two minutes, Ellis downed off 3-of-4 shots from the floor which, included a three-point play, to post eight points and give the Tide a 48-36 lead
- Not finished, the Tide added 17 unanswered points over four minutes to bring the score to 65-38 with 10:24 left to play
- The Crimson Tide would cruise from there, shooting 63.9 percent (23-of-36) and 76.9 percent from deep (13-of-17) over the final 20 minutes
- The Tide pulled down 20 rebounds in the half compared to eight from the Hurricanes
Boom ?? @Tyrese_Ellis00 #RollTide pic.twitter.com/VDxiWADQ29
— Alabama Men's Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) November 29, 2021
Up Next
- Alabama will have a week before games is it next takes on No. 1 Gonzaga on Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. CT.
For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
