Alabama basketball goes into a sold-out Reed Arena and silences the Aggies to remain unbeaten in SEC play.
Alabama Basketball went into Aggie land and got a top-10 win over the red-hot Aggies, in a 94-88 win, in a game that lasted just under three hours and had 54 fouls called.
The Aggies were without its leading scorer, Wade Taylor IV, for the second straight game.
Alabama had 17 assists tonight on 15 turnovers, with Labaron Philon leading the way with seven assists.
Mark Sears led the team in scoring with 27 points on 7-18, shooting 4-10 from three and 9-10 from the free throw line.
Jarin Stevenson won the hard hat in this game for the second time this week.
“That was a tough, hard-fought, and physical game. That’s what they do,” said head coach Nate Oats.
Takeaway #1: Alabama out-rebounds the Aggies
Alabama basketball went up against one of the top rebounding teams in all of college basketball and out-rebounded the Aggies 54-46. The Tide grabbed 24 offensive rebounds but was only able to convert on 16 second-chance points.
Clifford Omoruyi, despite leaving the game with a rolled ankle and then returning later in the game, was huge on the glass grabbing 10-plus rebounds for the second time this season.
“I’ll say a lot about Cliff, man. A lot of guys would’ve sat that one out after hurting their ankle. He wanted to be out there and play for his guys,” said Oats.
With two minutes to go in the game, Alabama had a possession on which it grabbed three straight offensive rebounds, and it ended with a Sears three to make it a seven point lead.
Takeaway #2: Both teams struggle from the free-throw line
In a game that had over 50 fouls called free throws very well decided the outcome of the game and the Aggies just could not knock them down all game. A&M finished 28-48 from the line, and Alabama finished 27-40. 20 misses versus 13 misses at the charity stripe was one of the differences in the game.
Zhuric Phelps went 5-10 at the line, and Pharrel Payne went 11-15 from the line.
Derrion Reid went 6-9 at the line and finished with 11 points.
Alabama had multiple guys foul out in Grant Nelson and Mouhamed Dioubate.
Takeaway #3: Youngblood’s break-out game
Chris Youngblood has been getting closer and closer to 100% and looks to be getting his feel for his shot back after struggling in his first couple of games. That was not the case in this game, finishing with 14 points, which is a season-high so far for Youngblood making 3-6 from downtown.
Youngblood’s defense continues to be very good, and was able to force Phelps into a bad night.
Youngblood grabbed a big rebound when it was a one-possession game late and converted two free throws late to put the game away.
Next up for Alabama (14-2, 3-0): vs. Ole Miss (14-2, 3-0) – Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. EST
Next up for Texas A&M (13-3, 2-1): at Kentucky (13-3, 2-1) – Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. EST