Alabama Holds Off Clemson 90-84

The 12th ranked Alabama Crimson Tide hosted Clemson in the annual SEC-ACC Challenge on Wednesday night at Coleman Coliseum. The Tide ran out to a big lead but let the lead get away in the second half before bouncing back t0 take a 90-84 victory. Bama improved to 6-2 on the year while the Tigers fell to 7-2 in the young campaign.

Alabama was with out four players while welcoming one new man to the lineup. Latrell Wrightsell and Keitenn Bristow continued to miss time with lower body injuries, Collins Onyejiaka is out indefinitely with a medical condition, and Aden Holloway was out for the game with an injured wrist. Miami transfer Jalil Bethea was available for the first time all season and was able to contribute a few minutes in the game.

Coach Nate Oats used a starting lineup of Labaron Philon, Amari Allen, Houston Mallette, Taylor Bol Bowen, and Aiden Sherrell. The Tide got off to a fast start with Philon knocking down an early three, followed by a layup to stake Bama to a 7-2 quickly. Everyone was cooking early, Philon hit from deep again, Amari Allen entered and connected from behind the arc, as did Bol Bowen. With 13:07 London Jemison joined the long distance parade and Bama led 21-8. The Tigers looked overwhelmed and over matched early on. Bethea made his long waited debut and made an immediate impact, grabbing an offensive rebound and stick it back for a hoop, making the score 25-8 with 11:00 left in the half.

Jemison and Bol Bowen both made their second three pointers back to back and the score moved to 31-12 at the 9:31 mark. With four minutes left Mallette made the rare four point play with a three and a free throw for a 43-27 lead. From that point forward the Tide went ice cold but had a seemingly comfortable lead of 45-30 at the half.

In the first half Bama shot 14-28 for 50%, including 8-18 from three for 44%, and made only 9-14 free throws for 64%. The Tide grabbed 24 rebounds -nine of the offensive variety- dished out nine assists, had two steals, blocked six shots, and committed eight turnovers. Philon led the way with 12 points and two assists, Allen scored nine points and added seven rebounds and two assists. Sherrell only scored two, but added four rebounds and blocked five shots.

Clemson shot only 11-30 for 30%, 2-14 from three for 14%, and made 6-8 at the charity stripe. Clemson had 19 rebounds in the frame, 11 of which were on the offensive end. The Tigers had two blocks, five steals, three assists, and only five turnovers. RJ Godfrey led the team with 10 points.

Alabama sent out the same starting five for the second half, and the lethargic play from the end of the first half continued. Clemson methodically chopped away at the lead by seemingly scoring on every offensive possession, while the Tide had trouble scoring. By the time the clock reached 14:26 the Bama lead was down to 50-46, meaning the Tigers had gone on a 16-5 run to open the half. Clemson was scoring at will in the paint, often with little or no resistance. After Clemson cut the lead to 52-50, Philon calmly knocked down two free throws for 54-50 lead. The Tigers tied the game for the first time since 2-2 at 54-54 with 11:56 remaining. Philon made a three pointer for a 61-58 lead as the teams continued to trade baskets until Clemson took a 62-61 lead with 9:46 left, their first lead since 2-0.

With the Tide down Jemison hit a big three pointer to tie the game 67-67. Mallette hit from deep at the 7:28 mark and Bama had a ““comfortable 70-66 lead. Alabama would score a basket and the Tigers would immediately answer, keeping the game within two to three points at all times. With 3:30 left Bol Bowen drained a three for a 81-75 Bama lead. Clemson kept grinding, scoring inside or at the free throw line and took the lead back at 83-81 with 2:41 left. Philon showed why he was the best player on the court with an old fashioned three point play to put the Tide back in front 84-83. Philon drove a scored again for a score or 86-83 with 1:50 on the clock. An Allen hoop and two of four made free throws down the stretch gave the Tide the victory with the 90-84 score.

In the second half Bama cooled off to 14-32 for 44% with 4-16 for 25% from three, and made 13-17 free throws. Overall the Tide finished 28-60 for 47%, 12-34 from deep for 35%, and 22-31 for 70% at the line. Bama grabbed 39 rebounds, had 13 assists, 12 blocks, three steals, and nine turnovers. Despite being saddled with foul trouble, Philon carried the team with 29 points with three assists. Allen was huge with 20 points,11 rebounds, four assists, and a block in 36 minutes of action. Bol Bowen scored 11 of his own with five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Jemison hit 3-6 from deep and scored 13 points. Mallette tallied 10 to give the team five players in double digits. Sherrell was quite in the point production with five, but grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked a career high eight shots. Clemson heated up in the second half to the tune of 18-34, almost all in the paint, and 2-5 from deep and a big 16-20 at the free throw line. Overall the Tigers finished 29-71 for 40% with only 4-19 from deep, and made 22-28 free throws. CU won the rebounding battle with 43 total, had 12 assists, three blocks, six steals, and committed seven turnovers. Godfrey led five players in double figures with 19 points. This was a tough win over a good opponent with a lot of size. The Tigers aren’t overly athletic and didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, but they are a resilient bunch that just kept battling back, but couldn’t quite get over the hump. With arguable the team’s two best shooters not available in Holloway and Wrightsell, Philon and Allen put the team on their backs, while getting boosts from Jemison, Sherrell, Bol Bowen, and Mallette. Giving up a big lead at home isn’t ideal but this is still a very nice win over a good team.

Next up is a Sunday game at home vs UTSA at 1:00 p.m. CT. The game will be shown in the SEC Network. Roll Tide!