Nate Oats took his surging basketball team on the road to LSU tonight and brought home a 90-83 victory.
The game got off to a slow start. Midway through the first half the score showed a 14-13 snoozefest, and that’s exactly what it was. Both offenses woke up a bit from there, however, and Alabama ended up taking a 43-40 lead into the locker room. LSU was in the game due to a scorching 50% on 14 three point attempts, a surprising number since the Tigers came into the game as the worst three-point shooting team in the SEC at 32%.
LSU also won the rebounding battle in the first half 19-14. Alabama shot the ball quite well in its own right at 50% overall, 38% from three and a perfect 14-14 from the line. It was a rough first half for Labaron Philon, but Aden Holloway picked him up with 10 points and three assiste. Amari Allen added seven points and three rebounds.
Alabama was able to create some distance on the scoreboard coming out of the locker room, mostly thanks to three quick ones from outside the arc courtesy of Aiden Sherrell, Allen and Holloway. The Tide took a 60-49 lead into the first media timeout of the second half. A three from Latrell Wrightsell Jr. pushed it out to 14, and that’s where things stood at the 12-minute timeout.
The game turned into something of a free-throw fest for the next few minutes with several players getting into foul trouble. One of those was Sherrell, who fouled out at the six-minute mark with Alabama up 74-61. Aiden made quite a mark on the game before he left with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks. LSU put a little run together at that point to pull within eight at 78-70 headed into the final media timeout of the night. Aden Holloway went to the bench with his fourth personal shortly before the break.
Wrightsell made a pair out of the timeout to again stake Alabama to a double digit advantage. LSU briefly closed the lead to six after a five-point possession that ended with a three-pointer off of an offensive rebound, but an Allen drive pushed the lead back out to eight with two minutes left. Houston Mallette then grabbed two key offensive boards, calling timeout as his momentum carried him out of bounds with the second one. London Jemison then got a put-back to push the lead back out to ten.
LSU would draw within eight again, but Alabama was able to keep them at bay and get the job done.
Next up is Mississippi State on Tuesday night. The Tide handled the Bulldogs pretty easily in the first matchup.
Roll Tide.