Alabama
9-3,0-0SEC
Davidson
9-2,0-0Atlantic 10
Davidson Upsets No. 10/11 Alabama, 79-78, in C.M. Newton Classic
12/21/2021 9:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide heads into Christmas break with a 9-3 non-conference record
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The No. 10/11 Alabama men's basketball team dropped a narrow 79-78 decision against Davidson Tuesday night in the C.M. Newton Classic which was played in Legacy Arena.
The Crimson Tide trailed by as many as 10 points in the final minutes before fighting back to nearly force overtime. However, Jahvon Quinerly missed his second of two free throw attempts as Alabama (9-3) lost for the second time in its last three games heading into the Christmas break.
Alabama was led by Jaden Shackelford's 20 points on the strength of four threes. Juwan Gary added 15 points and a team-leading eight boards while Quinerly finished with 13 points and six assists.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"Give a lot of credit to Davidson, I thought they came in and played hard. They played hard and they played well. They shot the ball well; they have good shooters, three of their guys combined to go 10-of-18. We did not do great on defense. We haven't done well recently in that area. We are going to have to pick it up defensively if we want to win games and until we do that, we aren't going to be able to beat quality teams. Our offense wasn't bad, we lost the game on the defensive end. Not exactly what we wanted heading into Christmas break, but I am all about a wake-up in order to pick up the defense. I don't know how many wake-up calls we're going to need to pick up the defense, but we're not going win a lot of games in the SEC at a high level until we decide to guard better than what we did tonight."
Team Stats
- Davidson established Alabama opponent highs in assists (22), three-pointers made (12), three-point field goal percentage (50.0 percent) and field goal percentage (53.4 percent)
- The Crimson Tide outrebounded the Wildcats, 39-27, including 16-4 on the offensive glass to own a 17-6 edge in second chance points
- Noah Gurley led the team with a +/- of +17 while collecting nine points, six rebounds and a team-leading two blocked shots
First Half
- After trailing 4-2, the Tide scored eight unanswered points to take a 10-4 lead with 15:27 left in the first half
- The Wildcats answered with a 16-0 run of their own, taking a 23-12 lead with 8:39 on the clock which forced an Alabama timeout
- Alabama chipped away at Davidson's run to grab a one-point lead (35-34) at the 2:31 mark, but a 7-0 run gave the Wildcats a six-point lead heading into the break (41-35)
- Gary finished the half with 10 points and four rebounds while Shackelford posted 12 points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal
- Six different players scored in the first half with Gary, Shackelford and Quinerly accounting for 28 of Alabama's 35 points
Second Half
- The Wildcats started the second half with 11-4 run to build to their largest lead of the game of 13 points (54-41)
- UA outscored the Wildcats 23-10 over the next nine minutes with a layup from Gurley tying the game at 64-64 with under 7 minutes to play
- After a push from Davidson saw the team extend its lead to 10 points (79-69) with 2:01 to play, the Tide scored nine unanswered to close the game, but came up just short at the final horn
- Keon Ellis shot 3-of-4 from the floor, with two baskets coming beyond the arc, to lead the team in the half with nine points
Up Next
- Alabama begins its Southeastern Conference slate Dec. 29, hosting No. 19/19 Tennessee in the SEC opener at 8 p.m. CT at Coleman Coliseum
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