
Alabama’s Hot-Shooting Too Much for Ole Miss in 97-83 Victory
2/9/2022 10:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide connected on 14-of-22 (63.6 percent) from beyond the arc en route to the 14-point win
OXFORD, Miss. – Junior guard Jaden Shackelford scored a career-high 30 points on the strength of a career-high-tying eight three-pointers leading Alabama to an impressive 97-83 win at Ole Miss Wednesday night.
As a team, the Crimson Tide (15-9, 5-6 SEC) shot single game season-best marks of 60 percent (36-of-60) from the field and 63.6 percent (14-of-22) from beyond the arc. Alabama also had a season-high 23 assists on its 36 made baskets.
Shackelford knocked down 8-of-13 threes to lead the charge as four Crimson Tide players recorded double figures in the victory. Freshman JD Davison had 18 points and eight assists off the bench while senior Keon Ellis (13) and graduate transfer Noah Gurley (10) also reach double figures on the night.
Ole Miss (12-12, 3-8) was led by Jarkel Joiner's 33 points in the losing effort.
.@jayunooo posted a career high 30 points while tying a career-high 8 threes in the game. @jddavison10 tallied 18 points, shooting 7-of-8 from the floor, and posting 8 assists @noahgurley earned the ?????#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/KYiyOjRKcz
— Alabama Men's Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) February 10, 2022
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"I thought our guys showed a lot of fight. Ole Miss came out hitting shots and got up by as many as 11. Instead of getting discouraged, our guys continued to play hard. We made some defensive adjustments and it obviously helped that we shot the ball well. I think we finished on a 30-8 run to end the half and showed some real resolve to fight our way back in it. We know we are more than capable of shooting the ball well. We had multiple guys shoot 50-percent or better from three. We haven't really had an issue with the offense this year, even though we haven't shot the ball as well as we'd like to. Defense is where we have to improve and I thought we had some stretches that we were really good defensively. There was also some stretches where we weren't that good and we still have to get a lot better. I am happy to get a road win. Florida (last road win) seems like forever ago. I am really excited for the guys."
Team Stats
- Alabama's 97 points was the most scored by an Ole Miss opponent since the last time the Crimson Tide played in Oxford, taking a 103 -78 win on February 22, 2020
- Shackelford's 30-point night was the Tide's first 30-point game since Kira Lewis Jr. posted 37 at Georgia (2/8/20)
- Alabama's point guards Jahvon Quinerly (9 points, 8 assists) and Davison combined to account for 27 points and 16 assists
- It is just the second time this year the Tide had eclipsed 40-percent shooting from deep (shot 53.5 percent vs. Miami on Nov. 28
First Half
- Ole Miss opened up the scoring early with an 14-4 run that pushed a 5-4 Alabama lead into a 18-9 advantage for the Rebels
- The Rebels continued to hold their lead, going up by 11 points (30-19) with 9:29 on the clock, however the Tide responded with a 17-4 run over the next four minutes to move ahead 36-34
- Alabama extended its lead over the final five minutes scoring the final 11 points of the half to cap a 30-8 run over the final 9-plus minutes to give the Tide a 49-38 lead at the break
- UA shot 17-of-31 from the floor, including 8-of-12 three pointers, while tallying 11 assists
- Shackelford contributed 19 points to the half, including six three-pointers, while Ellis posted 10
- Alabama's 49 points were the most first half points given up by the Rebel defense since Oklahoma posted 50 points in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament
Tonight's hard hat goes to @noahgurley? ?????#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/Yfg0aDTnFj
— Alabama Men's Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) February 10, 2022
Second Half
- A 9-0 run in the opening two minutes by Ole Miss pulled the Rebels within two points, 49-47
- Over the next six minutes of play, Alabama would outscore Ole Miss 19-7 to regain its double-digit advantage with a 68-54 lead at the 12:32 mark
- Alabama would lead by as many as 17 points before settling for the 14-point win
- Both Shackelford and Davison each had 11 points in the half, while Gurley scored all 10 of his points after intermission
- Alabama recorded an assist on 12 of its 19 second-half baskets with Davison's six dimes leading the way
Up Next
- Alabama returns home to host Arkansas on Saturday as the two teams tip off at 11 a.m. CT on SEC Network.
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