Alabama
7-1,0-0SEC
Gonzaga
7-2,0-0WCC
Alabama’s Offensive Explosion Leads No. 16 Crimson Tide Past No. 3 Gonzaga, 91-82, in Battle in Seattle
12/4/2021 10:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Jaden Shackelford ties his career high with 28 points and six three-pointers en route to the nine-point win
SEATTLE – Junior guard Jaden Shackelford tied his career high with 28 points on the strength of six three-pointers to help lead the No. 16 Alabama men's basketball team to a 91-82 victory over No. 3 Gonzaga Saturday night in the Battle in Seattle. The win marks the Crimson Tide's first road victory over a top-five team since it defeated then-No. 4 Mississippi State 77-73 on Feb. 21, 2004.
Shackelford connected on 10-of-16 shots from the field and 6-of-8 from deep on his way to matching his career high for a fourth time. He also led the team with nine boards in his 38 minutes of action. Freshman JD Davison also hit the 20-point mark for the first time in his young career, finishing with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists on the night.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"This was a huge win for our program today. Obviously, Gonzaga is one of the best programs in the country. I really thought our guys came ready to play. I thought our energy out of the gate was really good. Shack was able to hit some shots early to get us going which obviously helped give us the lead. It's a lot easier playing with the lead than behind. I thought our defensive intensity was good. We struggled with (Drew) Timme a little bit. All of our bigs were in foul trouble for most of the second half. It was a big-time game and big-time players showed up. It was a huge win for our program and just really happy for our guys."
Team Stats
- In addition to Shackelford and Davison, Jahvon Quinerly finished with 17 points and a team-high six assists
- Center Charles Bediako also had a solid game, finishing with seven points, eight rebounds and six blocked shots
- Alabama finished with 91 points and won its 28th consecutive game when scoring 80 or more points in a contest
- Alabama took Gonzaga into halftime with their largest first half deficit since the Zags trailed 40-23 against Memphis on Feb. 7, 2009
- Darius Miles earned the Hard Hat award for the first time this year
.@BigFreakk2 is our ?? winner, posting four rebounds, two steals and five points tonight #RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/6hsL9QCtZB
— Alabama Men's Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) December 5, 2021
First Half
- In a contested opening that saw seven lead changes and two ties, Shackelford jump started a 14-3 run that began at 11:08 and saw the Tide leading 34-23 with 7:23 on the clock
- After the Zags cut the lead to 36-31 with 4:18 left, Alabama outscored the Bulldogs 15-4 to take a 16-point lead (51-35) heading into the break
- Shackelford led the floor with an impressive 20 points, shooting 7-of-8 from the field and 6-of-7 from beyond the arc
- UA led in blocks 6-3 with five coming from Bediako
Add another ?? for @jayunooo to take us into halftime #RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/QFZGcY1txT
— Alabama Men's Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) December 5, 2021
Second Half
- Davison scored 12 points including going 2-of-3 from three-point range and 4-of-4 from the free throw line
- Alabama held a double-digit lead for most of the second half until the Zags staged a 13-4 run that cut the lead to 74-70 with 6:35 left to play
- With the Tide clinging to a 76-72 lead with at the under four media timeout, Davison and Quinerly hit back-to-back threes to jump start a game-deciding 12-2 run to take an 86-72 lead with under two minutes remaining in the game
- Davison would contribute seven points during the run to put the game out of reach
Mood??#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/sNw3uGpMLH
— Alabama Men's Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) December 5, 2021
Up Next
- Alabama returns home to host No. 15 Houston on December 11 at 9 p.m. CT inside Coleman Coliseum
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.
