Alabama improved to 3-0 on the season by defeating in-state rival Auburn 87-85 in a young, physical, chippy game. The match took place in Birmingham to a packed Ambassador Arena. The Tide were without freshman sharpshooting guard Cole Cloer, and point guards Aden Holloway and Anderson Diaz. Bama will open the season at home on Tuesday, November 3rd at 6:30 pm against Sam Houston.
Coach Nate Avena sent the starting five of Amari Allen, Qayden Daniels, London Jemison, Drew Fielder, and Jamarion Davis-Fleming. Steven Pearl and Auburn met with Tahaad Pettiford, Kevin Overton, Caleb Williams, Thomas Dowd, and Narcisse Ngoy.
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Daniel had the first round of the game, a long shot. After Auburn went ahead 4-3. After Allen connected from deep, the Tide had a 6-4 lead. Ngoy took a layup for the Tigers and AU was able to take an 11-6 lead with 16:39 left in the half. Brandon Garrison scored a three to make it 11-9 at the 16th timeout. As the teams headed to the bench, a little brawl broke out and Allen ended up with a technical foul.
Tarris Bouie came in for the Tide and his energy was remarkable. Alabama’s newest honorable mention, Jaxon Richardson, also participated in his first preseason practice. Keiton Bristow made an early three-point play to bring Bama back to 21-19. Bouie made a play just before the 9:40 mark to give Tidetur a 23-22 lead. Things continued to go back and forth and Auburn led 28-25 with 8:15 left in the period.
With Auburn holding a six-point lead, Bristow hit a shot from down town to make the score 33-30. Sameuls drained a three-pointer with 3:02 on the clock to give Bama a 37-36 lead. Allen made a hoop on the next possession. The teams continued to run and the Tide held a 44-41 lead at the break.
In the first half, Alabama shot 15-36 for 42%, 5-17 from three for 29%, and made only 9-16 free throws for 56%. The team grabbed seven offensive rebounds among his 22 total, dished out seven assists, blocked five shots, stole seven, and turned the ball over six times. Daniel led the way with 14 points and had two assists. Bristow scored nine with five rebounds, blocked two shots, and added a steal. Bouie contributed six points, a team-high six rebounds, two steals, one assist, and a block.
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Auburn finished 13-37 for 35% in the half with 4-17 for 24% from deep, but made 11-13 free throws for 85%. The Tigers were struggling with 27 and 11 on the offensive end. AU had nine assists, two blocks, two steals, and committed 10 turnovers. Ngoy was a beast in the middle and had eight points and eight rebounds. Overton had eight points of his own to Bukky Oboye’s six points and six rebounds.
Jemison hit a three-pointer for the first basket of the second half and gave the Tide a 47-41 lead with 18:35 left. Allen became the most active and scored two baskets in a row. Bouie kept things going, but his inability to save the arc helped keep Auburn in the game. When Samuels hit a three with 12 minutes left, Bama had a seven-point lead, 58-51, and it looked like bloodshed from there. To Auburn’s credit, they didn’t want that to happen. Every day I saw how the tide could go to kill the shot, running back the Tigers. With 10:25 left, Auburn took a 62-60 lead.
Bouie nailed a three-pointer to give Tidetur the lead back and then hit a 2-2 free throw (he was 3-9 from the line before), for a 65-62 Bama lead with 9:50 remaining. A layup and a free throw pushed Bama to a 68-62 lead. Golden again, would not go away, taking a 73-72 lead with 6:40 left in the game. Samuels made a 1-2 free throw to close the gap at 74-73 with 5:35 left. With Auburn leading 76-73, Allen hit a three to tie things up.
With a 78-76 deficit, with a little over three minutes left, Allen fouled out and made one of two charity layups. With 2:20 left, Jemison nailed a three-pointer for an 80-78 Bama lead. With 1:21 left, the score was tied at 80-all. Allen powered his way to the rim and fired a shot into the muscle while fouling. Allen calmly sank a free throw for an 83-80 lead. Auburn lost from the field, but the Heat began to rebound. The Tigers made both to cut the lead to 83-82 with 58 seconds left. Marked by Samuel in lead in an- 85-82. Auburn missed by three, but again the Tide fouled the rebound. The Tigers made the first miss of the second with 22 seconds left and the score 85-83.
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Auburn fouled Allen on an inbounds play and the sophomore made one of two free throws for an 86-83 lead. Auburn had a good look at the three for the tie but missed. Guess what? Bama scored a rebound and Auburn did both. With 4.9 seconds left on the clock, the Tide had to tie the game. The foul fielder continues to the line. Boise State Transportation made the first, and missed the second. The ball was rolling and Auburn had a shot before the buzzer went off, and Alabama held on for an 87-85 victory. As the players tried to leave the court, Auburn’s George Kimble III came from behind and blindsided Allen, nearly knocking Allen to the floor and escalating the conflict. Each and every one of the target groups is sometimes different.
Bama shot 12-28 for 43% in the 2nd half with 5-14 from three and 14-22 from the free throw line. Overall the tide was 27-64 for 42%, 10-31 for 32% from deep, and 23-36 for a poor 64% at the charity stripe. Alabama finished with 42 rebounds, 13 offense, 12 assists, eight blocks, 12 steals, and 14 turnovers. Allen had a huge half and finished with 23 points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists. Despite shooting 6-19 from the floor, Daniels scored 20 points with four rebounds and four assists. Bouie had 14 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, two steals, and one assist. Guard scored nine with five rebounds and two assists. Bristow had a nice game with nine points, eight rebounds, four blocks, and a steal.
Auburn shot 10-32 for 31% in the half with 7-24 from high for 29% and 17-23 at the line. Overall, the Bama defense held the Tigers to 23-69 for 33%, 11-41 for 27% on threes, and 28-36 for 78% on free throws. UA won the boards with 51 rebounds, 22 offensive, 15 assists, four blocks, eight steals, and 17 turnovers. Overton scored 26 points to lead the team, Adam Olsen added 12, and Pettiford and Caleb Williams were also in double figures with 11 each. Dowd had a Dennis Rodman game with 12 rebounds and no points.
Good guy and hard to beat another SEC opponent in the showpiece game. However the game was nothing like your typical exhibition. He had this game in March. Both teams were missing some key players. The Heat continue to go 3-0 in preseason games with neutral point guards available with Aden Holloway suspended and Anderson Diaz injured. Allen and Daniel were the ball handlers and Bouie and others helped. Bama’s turnovers have been the way it has been in three games, and Holloway will have to change once he returns, which will be in his third regular season game. When this team is full of energy, they should look fun. The season begins on Tuesday, November 3 at 6:30 pm CT in Coleman Coliseum.
Roll Tide