BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 16/16 Alabama men’s basketball team got back to its winning ways Saturday afternoon at LSU, defeating the Tigers 109-92 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. With the win, the Crimson Tide (17-7, 9-2 SEC) completes a season sweep of the Tigers, scoring a combined 218 points in the two victories (won 109-88 on Jan. 27).

 

Saturday’s contest featured 17 lead changes and six ties, with 15 lead changes and all six ties coming in the opening 20 minutes. LSU (12-11, 4-6 SEC) trailed by double digits early in the second half but clawed its way back to take a 73-72 lead at the 9:32 mark. Alabama responded by going on a 26-9 run over the next 5:29 to take control of the game at 98-82. The Tide would go on to score 60 points after intermission to take the 17-point win.

 

Five Tide players reached double digits led by Mark Sears, who finished with 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Latrell Wrightsell Jr., who added 21 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Nick Pringle (17), Rylan Griffin (16) and Aaron Estrada (15) also reached double figures.

 

Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments

“This was a big road win and that we needed to get it if we are trying to stay in the hunt and win the league. LSU came ready to go and we had no answer for (Will) Baker in the first half. Then they made their run to take the lead in the second half and we were able to open up a barrage of three’s. We were only able to force 12 turnovers, but we scored on most of them. I thought the job that Nick Pringle did in the second half was really good on Baker. We ended up outrebounding them by 12, which we knew we needed to do playing a small lineup. Latrell (Wrightsell Jr.) had a double-double for the first time this year and he played great. He shot six-of-nine from three and we keep trying to tell him he can't turn down open threes because he shoots it way too well to turn them down. I still think he might’ve turned some open ones down tonight, but he was great, with 10 rebounds. I thought Sears played a great game, he ended up with five assists on only two turnovers, Rylan had six assists and zero turnovers, Latrell had four assists and zero turnovers and Estrada seven assists and one turnover and when you add that up its 22 assists to only three turnovers. That is pretty impressive from those four guards that started. We've been on these guys about rebounding, turnovers and defensive intensity. We’ve got to get our front court a little bit better, I thought our backcourt was pretty good on everything we've been on them about. It’s big to get a win, we haven't played great on the road, and they have played great at home. So, to kind of blow this thing open at the end was big on number fronts.”

 

TEAM STATS

• It is the seventh 100-point game for the Crimson Tide this season, which is a school record and the second-most in the Southeastern Conference in the last 30 years
• Alabama’s 218 points scored against LSU this season is the most in any two-game stretch against the Tigers in series history. UA also made a combined 33 three-pointers in 78 total attempts (42.3 percent).
• The Tide forced 12 turnovers while only committing eight, however, had a big +17 advantage (23-6) lead in points off turnovers
• The 18 made three-pointers (18-40) were the second-most made in a game by UA this season (had 19 vs. Purdue and Eastern Kentucky)
• Alabama took a season-high 81 shots, marking the second time in the last three contests that the Tide has had 80-or-more shots (83 vs. Mississippi State)
• Nick Pringle scored a season-high 17 points and five rebounds, four of which were on the offensive glass
• Wrightsell drilled six three-pointers, matched a career-best, while his 21 points set a new season-high
• Wrightsell also earned his first double-double of the year

 

 

FIRST HALF

• Both offenses were exceptional to start the game, as LSU shot 80 percent (8-10) from the field by the first media timeout led by Will Baker’s nine points and led 18-17
• The game had 10 lead changes and tied twice by the first media timeout
• From the 5:21 mark until the 4:14 mark of the half Alabama went on a 7-0 run to take its first double-digit lead (47-37) of the game
• Alabama scored two points in the final four minutes, going into halftime with a 49-46 lead
• LSU’s Will Baker had 22 points
• Mark Sears and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. led Alabama with 12 points each

 

SECOND HALF

• Alabama went on a 9-0 run early in the second half to take a 62-51 lead
• LSU went on a 14-3 run to tie the game and eventually take its first lead of the half (73-72) with nine and a half minutes left in the game
• Alabama led 76-75 and would go on a 12-2 run just under two minutes to take a double-digit lead with six and a half minutes left in the contest
• The Tide’s run total of 26-9 turned a one-point deficit into a 16-point lead (98-72) with 4:03 remaining

 

UP NEXT

• Alabama will have a bye date this week and will return to action next Saturday at home against Texas A&M
• The game is slated for a 11 a.m. CT tipoff at Coleman Coliseum and will air live on ESPN or ESPN2

 

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