The No. 12 Alabama Crimson Tide hosts Clemson in the annual SEC-ACC Challenge at Coleman Coliseum on Wednesday night. The Tide led by a large margin, but lost the lead in the second half and ultimately won 90-84. Bama improved to 6-2 that year, while the Tigers fell to 7-2 in the new season.
Alabama welcomes one newcomer to the lineup while missing four players. Latrell Wrightsell and Ketan Bristow remain out with lower-body injuries, Collins Onejaka is out indefinitely with a medical condition and Aden Holloway is out with a wrist injury. Miami transfer Jaleel Bethea played for the first time all season and contributed a few minutes in the game.
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Coach Nate Oates used a starting lineup of LaBaron Philon, Amari Allen, Houston Mallett, Tyler Bol Bowen and Aiden Scherer. The Tide got off to a fast start, with Philon hitting an early three-pointer and then a layup, and Bama quickly chased the score to 7-2. Everyone started cooking early, with Philon again attacking from deep and Amari Allen coming in and connecting from behind the arc, as did Bol Bowen. At 13 minutes and 07 seconds, London Jemison joined the long march and Bama led 21-8. The Tigers looked overwhelmed and evenly matched early on. Bethea made her long-awaited debut and made an immediate impact, grabbing an offensive rebound and putting it in the basket to make it 25-8 with 11:00 left in the half.
Jamison and Bo Bowen hit their second consecutive three-pointers, and the score reached 31-12 at 9 minutes and 31 seconds of the game. Mallett hit a rare four-pointer, a three-pointer and a free throw to lead 43-27 with 4 minutes left. From that point on, things turned cold for the Tide, but held a seemingly comfortable 45-30 lead at halftime.
In the first half, Bama made 14 of 28 field goals, with a shooting percentage of 50%, including 8 of 18 three-pointers, with a shooting percentage of 44%, and 9 of 14 free throws, with a shooting percentage of 64%. The Tide grabbed 24 rebounds (accounting for 9 offensive rebounds), sent out 9 assists, 2 steals, 6 blocks and 8 turnovers. Philon scored 12 points and 2 assists, and Allen scored 9 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists. Scherer only scored two points but contributed four rebounds and five blocks.
Clemson shot just 11-for-30 from the field (30 percent), 2-for-14 for 14 percent from 3-point range, and 6-for-8 from the charity stripe. Clemson had 19 rebounds, 11 of which came on the offensive end. The Tigers had 2 blocks, 5 steals, 3 assists and only 5 turnovers. RJ Godfrey scored a team-high 10 points.
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Alabama returned to the same starting five in the second half, continuing its lethargic performance at the end of the first half. Clemson seemed to score on every offensive possession, methodically cutting into the lead while the Tide struggled to score. When the game reached 14 minutes and 26 seconds, Bama’s lead shrank to 50-46, which meant the Tigers opened the half with a 16-5 run. Clemson scored at will inside, often with little resistance.
After Clemson extended its lead to 52-50, Philon calmly made two free throws to lead 54-50. With 11:56 left in the game, the Tigers tied the game for the first time since 2-2 at 54-54. Philon hit a three-pointer to put the team up 61-58, and the two teams continued to trade baskets until Clemson led 62-61 with 9:46 left in the game, their first lead since 2-0.
As the tide went down, Jamieson hit a three-pointer to tie the score at 67-67. Mallett hit a long shot at 7 minutes and 28 seconds, giving Bama a comfortable lead 70-66. Alabama scored and the Tigers responded immediately, keeping the score within two or three throughout. With 3 minutes and 30 seconds left in the game, Bol Bowen made a three-pointer and Bama led 81-75. Clemson continued to struggle, scoring in the paint or at the free throw line, and regained the lead at 83-81 with 2:41 left. Philon proved why he was the best player on the floor with an old-fashioned 3-pointer to put the Tide back in front 84-83. With 1 minute and 50 seconds left in the game, Philon scored again, making the score 86-83. Allen’s basket and two of the final four free throws gave the Tide a 90-84 victory.
Bama calmed down in the second half and made 14 of 32 shots (44%), 4 of 16 three-pointers (25%), and 13 of 17 free throws. Overall, the Tide shot 47 percent from the field (28-60), 35 percent from 3-point range (12-34), and 70 percent from the free throw line (22-31). Bama had 39 rebounds, 13 assists, 12 blocks, 3 steals and 9 turnovers. Despite being plagued by foul trouble, Philon still helped the team with 29 points and 3 assists. Allen scored 20 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block in 36 minutes of play. Bol Bowen personally scored 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Jamieson hit 3-6 from three-point range and scored 13 points. Mallett scored 10 points and five players on the team scored in double figures. Scherer scored five points but grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked eight shots, a career high.
Clemson closed the second half to 18-34, almost all in the paint, going 2-5 from three and 16-20 from the free throw line. Overall, the Tigers went 29-71 on 40 percent shooting, 19 points on just 4 of 3-point attempts, and 22 of 28 on free throws. CU won the rebounding battle with 43 points, had 12 assists, three blocks, six steals and committed seven turnovers. Godfrey led five players in double figures with 19 points.
It was a tough win over a good, tall opponent. The Tigers weren’t particularly athletic and didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, but they were a resilient team that kept coming back but couldn’t quite overcome the odds. With Holloway and Wright-Sell, perhaps the team’s two best shooters, out, Philon and Allen gave the team a back-to-back with help from Jemison, Scherer, Bol Bowen and Mallett. Giving up a huge lead at home isn’t ideal, but it was still a very good win against a good team.
Next up is Sunday’s home game against UTSA at 1:00 PM CT. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network. Curly tide!