Alabama
16-5,11-1SEC
South Carolina
5-8,3-6SEC
No. 11/11 Alabama Finishes Down the Stretch to Pull Out an 81-78 Victory at South Carolina
2/9/2021 8:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
John Petty Jr. leads UA with 20 points and eight boards in the victory
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 11/11 Alabama men’s basketball team used late free throws and clutch defense down the stretch to pull out a narrow 81-78 victory at South Carolina on Tuesday night. With the win, the Crimson Tide strengthens its hold on first place in the Southeastern Conference by improving to 16-5 on the season and 11-1 in league play.
Guard John Petty Jr. led Alabama with 20 points, his fourth 20-point game on the year, and a season-high tying eight rebounds on the night. Guard Jahvon Quinerly had 13 points, 10 coming in the second half, while guard Joshua Primo (12) and Jaden Shackelford (10) also reached double digits in the victory. Forward Herbert Jones scored just three points, but also added a team-leading seven assists and two blocks to go along with five boards.
South Carolina (5-8, 3-6) was led by AJ Lawson’s game-high 21 points.
Gallery: 02-09-21 MBB vs South Carolina
Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
“That was a tough, hard-fought win. (South Carolina head coach) Frank (Martin) has those guys playing hard. They are 5-8, but they’ve had so many pauses with COVID, it’s hard to gauge an exact record. I respect coach Martin and how hard he gets his guys going, I knew it was going to be a battle. It would have been nice to open it up, but it’s not bad to win a close one either. I think we are 3-3 in two possession games, and last year we were 4-11. We’ve put a lot of emphasis on learning how to close. I thought we did some dumb things late in the game, but we did enough to win. (James) Rojas stepped up and went 4-for-4 from the line late in the game, after he missed all three in the previous game. He showed a lot of mental toughness and played hard, he ended up winning the Hard Hat award. Our three seniors, I cannot say enough about those three. I thought Alex Reese played super hard. Wins are hard to come by in the SEC, so it’s great however we’ve got to get them. I think our guys are, learning how to win.”
Team Stats
- Alabama shot just 38 percent (26-of-68) from the field and knocked down 12-of-34 (35.2 percent) threes while South Carolina shot 44 percent (32-of-72) and hit 6-of-25 (24.0 percent) from deep
- Free throws were key down the stretch with the Tide converting 5-of-6 from the charity stripe across the final four minutes
- Alabama finished the contest knocking down 17-of-20 (85 percent) free throws for the game compared to 8-of-14 (57 percent) for the Gamecocks
- The Tide won the rebound battle with 41 rebounds to USC’s 38, including 18 offensive boards compared to 15 for the Gamecocks which resulted in a 19-11 edge in second chance points
- The Alabama reserves once again contributed with 34 points including Quinerly’s 13, while Alex Reese added nine
- Alabama led for 24:35 of the game while USC led for 11:32 in the contest that featured five lead changes and seven ties throughout
First Half
- After each ream recorded a bucket to start the game, South Carolina went on a 9-0 run to go up 11-2 after the first four minutes of the opening stanza
- The Gamecocks managed a quick 5-0 spurt to extend the lead to 16-5 before Alabama responded with a 10-2 spurt to tie the game at 18-18 at the 11:37 mark
- Back-to-back buckets from Jaden Shackelford gave the Tide its first lead of the night at 24-22 with 8:58 remaining in the first half
- The two teams swapped buckets the next few minutes before the Gamecocks went up 31-28 with a quick 5-0 spurt
- Alabama responded with a 10-2 run to takes its largest lead of the game thus far, 38-33 with 1:21 remaining before intermission
- The first half featured six ties and three lead changes with the Tide taking the 39-36 lead into the locker room
Second Half
- Alabama went up 44-40 before the Gamecocks scored five straight to take their only lead of the second half at 45-44 just over two minutes in
- The Tide utilized a quick 6-0 spurt to regain the lead with 16:11 left to go in the second half
- The next few minutes went back-and-forth with Alabama leading 59-53 before the Gamecocks scored six straight and tied the game at 59-59
- The Tide responded with back-to-back buckets to take the lead for good, 63-59 at the 10:37 mark
- Alabama took its largest of the contest, 78-70, with 3:37 remaining eight before USC scored six straight to cut the lead to 78-76 with 1:02 left in the game
- South Carolina held Alabama without a field goal the last 4:20, but the Tide knocked down 5-of-6 key free throws down the stretch to pull out the win
Next Up
The Tide will return home to host the Georgia Bulldogs Saturday afternoon inside Coleman Coliseum. The game is slated for a 2:30 p.m. CT start and can be watched on the SEC Network.
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