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Alabama started this game hot and just kept the fire going for the entire half. John Petty, still the long-range sniper, threw four consecutive 3-point shots without even touching the rim in the first 3 minutes of the game. Two of them were pure NBA gear, achieving the shot well beyond the arc with a guy right in front. Petty could feel it and he was going to keep shooting.
Not to be outdone by the much older senior, Josh Primo struck three consecutive times behind Petty, meaning Alabama hit 6 in a row out of their first 7 possessions and the Tide were 19 points ahead. only a few minutes into the game. To their credit, LSU put in a number of very difficult shots throughout the half despite the Tidal Defense which forced a wave of early turnovers, keeping the score differential just around of the 20-25 point mark the remainder of the half.
After Petty and Primo’s never-ending long-range three-hail storm, Jahvon Quinnerly jumped into the action and landed three of his own quick shots, giving the Tide 40 points in just 10 minutes. For those of you who like the fares, Alabama was on track to score 160 at this point.
They calmed down a bit in the last 10 minutes of half-time, only scoring 20 more points. Remember when Anthony Grant was back when it was a good offensive day if Tide hit 30 in the first half? What a time it was.
Petty and Primo added three more trebles as the game got much more hectic in the dying minutes of the half. Thefts, stray bullets and fouls abound as both teams get rid of every bullet.
The Tigers hit a buzzer batsman almost halfway down the field to get the 32 points, reducing Alabama’s lead to just under double.
Rather than let the half-time interruption cool their pace, Alabama came out in the second half with equal precision. Petty, Primo and even Herb Jones got into some top three in the first four minutes. Primo also added a few sets of highlights in the paint. Quinnerly finished things off with another pack of three lines in a row, pushing Tide to a 43-point lead, and Tide started working in bench players for the final 10 minutes as Tide headed towards an exit of 105 points. and LSU made its way through 75 meaningless points.
Petty, Primo and Quinnerly share the limelight for the Tide tonight, scoring 24, 22 and 22 points. The three combined to go 20/25 from the three point range, and you’re never going to lose a game with that kind of sharp shot.
Josh Primo in particular has had his best outing of his first season so far, nailing as many as three pointers while adding a number of pretty plays in the paint and moving the ball. Meanwhile, Petty was a big presence in defense, adding three interceptions.
Herb Jones was usual himself, adding 13 points, 5 assists and a steal. He was tasked with going man-to-man with LSU star Trendon Watford throughout the match and did admiral job. Watford finished with just 11 points on the 4/11 shoot and had a few turnovers.
Jaden Shackelford had a great game on his own. Although he didn’t take any deep shots and had just 6 points, he was Tide’s most efficient player to lead the basket throughout the game and added 8 assists. His efforts there actually drove the Tide in +/- stats with 37.
In terms of effort, James Rojas led the team in both rebounds and blocks, despite just 13 minutes overall due to taking an elbow in the nose and a few fouls.
Darius Miles and Keon Ambrose-Hylton both had significant playing time in the last quarter of the game and showed good things. Miles seems to have a very instinctive ability to catch a ball and quickly pass it through traffic, while Ambrose-Hylton has those gadget arms that have teammates looking to give him the chance to dunk it with every play.
Look, if you hit 23/43 three-pointers (most misses from saves after the match starts) you’re not going to lose very often. Alabama was scoring 3 points per minute very consistently for 3 quarters until they were substituted on the bench, and even a talented shooting team like LSU couldn’t keep up with that.
While this kind of shooting success doesn’t last from game to game, the other aspects of this night absolutely are. On offense, Alabama consistently had LSU defenders a few yards behind with each pass, so they kept moving the ball around until they looked open … then converted. .
Defensively, they put in considerable effort. Almost all of the LSU points were fiercely fought and contested, and the Tide racked up a number of steals early on to get them such a lead.
Sheer effort and consistent intensity is something we’ve very, very rarely seen on an Alabama basketball team. There was no 5 minute slowdown at any time … Even the bench and walk-ons kept the effort going until the last buzzer.
It’s victory in basketball, and that’s why Alabama is striving to be a top-15-ranked team and currently a projected No.3 seed.
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