Alabama
11-5,2-2SEC
Auburn
15-1,4-0SEC
No. 4/4 Auburn Hands No. 24/25 Alabama an 81-77 Defeat
1/11/2022 11:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Tigers snapped the Crimson Tide’s 17-game home winning streak with the win
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 4/4 Auburn Tigers handed the No. 24/25 Alabama Crimson Tide its first home defeat in 17 games with an 81-77 victory Tuesday night inside Coleman Coliseum. Alabama battled back from a 14-point deficit midway through the second half to tie the game late but Auburn connected on four consecutive free throws in the final seconds to result in the final margin.
The Crimson Tide (11-5, 2-2 SEC) had five players finish in double figures to lead a balanced scoring attack, led by Jahvon Quinerly's 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. Guard Jaden Shackelford added 13 points and seven boards while Noah Gurley (11 points), Darius Miles (10 points, nine rebounds) and Keon Ellis (10 points, seven rebounds) reached double digits.
Auburn (15-1, 4-0) was led by freshman Jabari Smith's 25 points and four blocked shots, while freshman Wendell Green Jr. added 19 points, four assists and three steals off the bench.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame comments
"This was a tough loss. I thought our guys fought hard to get back in the game at the end. You got to give Auburn a ton of credit. That is a hard playing, tough group. We have got a lot of respect for them. I told our guys that they have lost one game all year, and it was a tight game. They are close to being a top-three team in the country. We needed to play our best game in order to win that one and we didn't. We gave ourselves a chance there late. We didn't execute like we needed to down the stretch. There is a lot to learn from, had a few positives. They are one of the best defensive teams in the country. Our three starting guards went 9-for-38, so they did a great job on them. We just didn't get the firepower we needed. I thought we did improve on the defensive end after (our last game), but just didn't have enough to beat a team as good as Auburn."
Team Stats
- The loss snaps a 17-game home winning streak, which was the sixth-longest in the nation entering the contest
- The contest featured 10 ties and eight lead changes throughout
- Alabama's 24 made free throws matched the most in a game this season while the 82.8 percent shooting from the charity stripe (24-of-29) was the second best in a game this year
- The Crimson Tide's 22.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc (7-of-21) matched a season-low mark
- UA's top three scorers (Shackelford, Quinerly and Ellis) combined to hit 9-of-38 (23.7 percent) from the field and 5-of-22 (22.7 percent) from beyond the arc
First Half
- The two teams fought for control in the opening 14 minutes of play as the game saw seven ties and eight lead changes in that span
- Auburn was the first to create a gap, going on a 11-2 run for a 34-25 lead with 3:51 on the clock
- The Tide responded with a 10-4 run to cut the lead to three, but a last-minute layup from Devan Cambridge pushed the Tigers out to a 40-35 edge at the half
- Eight players contributed to Alabama's 35 points with Gurley pacing the squad with seven
- UA shot 11-of-31 from the floor while Auburn made 16-of-37
Second Half
- After UA closed the gap to two, 42-40 at the 18:46 mark, Auburn pushed out to a 12-point lead with a 19-9 run for a 61-49 lead with 13:13 to play
- Miles sparked an 8-0 run to bring the Tide within four 61-57 with 11:09 on the clock
- Auburn would respond with a 12-2 spurt to take its largest lead of the game at 73-59 with just under eight minutes to play
- The Crimson Tide would not go away and scored 14 consecutive points as part of 16-3 run, including an emphatic dunk by JD Davison, to tie the game at 73-73 with under five minutes to play
- The two teams traded points in the final minutes but four consecutive free throws in the waning second by the Tigers would prove to be the final margin
- Both Shackelford and Quinerly had nine points in the half to lead UA, while Miles posted six points, five rebounds and a block
Up Next
- Alabama will travel to Mississippi State Saturday to compete in its third SEC road game in four games. The contest will tipoff on SEC Network at 5 p.m. CT.
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– UA –
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