Alabama
21-6,16-2SEC
Georgia
14-11,7-11SEC
No. 8/5 Alabama Shines in Second Half to Capture 89-79 Come-From-Behind Win Over Georgia
3/6/2021 7:47:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Crimson Tide finishes regular season at 21-6 overall and 16-2 in SEC play to tie for most conference wins in a season in program history
ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 8/5 Alabama men’s basketball team scored 59 points in the second half, while shooting 63.3 percent (19-of-30) from the floor and 80 percent (8-of-10) from beyond the arc, to secure an 89-79 come-from-behind victory over Georgia in both team’s regular season finale on Saturday inside Stegeman Coliseum.
With the victory, the Crimson Tide finishes the regular season at 21-6 overall, the most wins since 2012-13, and 16-2 in SEC play which matches the 1986-87 squad (16-2) for the most victories in league play in school history.
Guard Jahvon Quinerly led Alabama with 18 points, all coming in the second half, while collecting five rebounds and four assists in the contest. Joining Quinerly in double figures was guard John Petty Jr., who had 15 points and a team-leading seven boards, along with Jaden Shackelford (14), Joshua Primo (11) and Herbert Jones (10).
Georgia (14-11, 7-11) began the contest on fire and jumped out to a 29-15 lead through the first 11-plus minutes. However, Alabama ended the first half on a 15-7 run over the final 8:03 and began the second half on a 15-2 run to result in a 45-38 Crimson Tide lead with 15:58 left in the contest. In all, the 30-9 run spanned halftime and lasted 12:05.
We finish the regular season with 21 wins (most since 2012-13) tying the school record for most wins in an SEC season at 16-2 the most since 1986-87#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/caucTosMob
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) March 6, 2021
Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
“I thought Georgia really came ready to play today. They were a lot more ready than we were. Give coach (Tom) Crean and his staff and players all the credit. I thought our guys didn’t play a particularly great first 10 minutes. They jumped out on us 29-15. From that point on, I thought we really picked it up. We finished the first half on a 15-7 run and started the second half on a 15-2 run, so that 30-9 score turned a14-point deficit into a seven-point lead. We can’t afford to come out the way we did tonight in Nashville. I thought JQ didn’t have a great first half, but I thought he was dynamite in the second half. He had 18 points in the second half, and they couldn’t keep him out of the lane. There is some credit that goes to some guys who maybe don’t get as much notoriety as some of our other guys. I think this is just a team that pulls for each other. For us to finish at 16-2 in the SEC and tie for the most wins in school history shows a lot of what this team is made of. We have to get back to playing more like we did in the second half than we did in the first half when we get to Nashville.”
Team Stats
- Alabama improved to 16-0 when scoring 80 or more points in a game this season
- After defeating Georgia, 115-82, back on Feb. 13, the Crimson Tide earned a season sweep of the Bulldogs, combining to score 204 total points (102.0 points per game)
- It marked just the second time this season UA has won a game when trailing at halftime (Furman)
- Alabama shot 48.5 percent (33-of-68) from the field and knocked down 10-of-22 (45.5 percent) from three-point range while the Bulldogs shot 46.8 percent (29-of-62) from the floor and 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from three-point land
- The Tide dominated the boards, outrebounding Georgia 45-32 in the contest
- The Alabama bench gave the Tide a big boost with 33 points compared to 24 points by the Bulldogs’ reserves
First Half
- Alabama began by scoring the game’s first five points, all coming from Petty, before the Bulldogs responded with nine straight to take a 9-5 lead at the 14:33 mark of the opening stanza
- Georgia continued its overall run of 20-6 to take a 20-11 lead with 10:35 remaining in the first half
- The Tide cut the lead to 20-15, but Georgia went on a 9-0 run to take its biggest lead of the half at 29-15 with 8:03 remaining
- Alabama answered with a 7-0 run, but the Bulldogs responded with a 7-2 spurt to regain its double-digit advantage at 36-24 with 3:03 left to play
- Alabama finished the half with a 6-0 run to trail Georgia 36-30 headed into the locker room at the half
- The Tide outscored the Bulldogs 15-7 over the final 8:03 to take momentum into the locker room
?? @jpetty2324 hits a 3 to give @AlabamaMBB their largest lead of the game pic.twitter.com/HQvWTVLhr1
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 6, 2021
Second Half
- Alabama continued its run out of the locker room with nine straight points to take a 39-36 lead at the 18:22 mark, its first lead since the 5-0 start
- With UA holding a 53-44 lead at the 13:35 mark, the Bulldogs responded with a 10-4 run to cut the lead to 57-54 with 11:48 remaining
- Clinging to a 59-57 advantage after Georgia’s P.J. Horne hit a three-pointer with 11 minutes to play, the Tide used a 12-2 run over the next three minutes to take its largest lead at 71-61 with just over eight minutes to play
- Georgia would not go away and managed to slowly whittle away at the deficit, cutting it to a single possession, 82-79, with 1:13 remaining
- Guard Keon Ellis then drained an open three, part of Alabama’s 8-of-10 shooting from deep in the second half, to jumpstart Alabama’s 7-0 run to end the game and result in the final score
Next Up
- The Crimson Tide earned the regular season championship and the overall No. 1 seed in the 2021 SEC Tournament, which will be played at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
- Alabama will face the winner of No. 8 seed Kentucky and No. 9 seed Mississippi State on Friday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN
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.
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