BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 25/RV Alabama men’s basketball team took the lead late in the first half and never looked back, securing its sixth straight win in conference play with a 90-83 victory at LSU, Saturday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The Crimson Tide made a season-high 30 free throws to help secure the win. 

Alabama (20-7, 10-4 SEC) was led by 17 points and four assists from Aden Holloway while Aiden Sherrell added his second straight double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. Amari Allen (16), Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (14) and London Jemison (12) also contributed with double-figure scoring efforts for UA. 

LSU (14-13, 2-12 SEC) was led by Marquel Sutton’s 21 points and six rebounds while Pablo Tamba added 10 points and 12 rebounds. 

Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments 

“I have a lot of respect for LSU players and staff. I have watched them lose tight, one-possession games, so for them to be playing as hard as they are currently playing, keep fighting. They were down 16 with seven minutes left and got it all the way down to within six at one point late in the game. They outrebounded us on the offensive glass, so we have to do better there, they had three different guys with five offensive boards. 

“I thought that was the best game Aden Holloway has played on the defensive end all year. We put him on (Max) McKinnon to start, who ended up playing 30 minutes, took 16 shots, and it was only his second game in SEC play that he did not have double figures. Aden ended up with two steals, and his defensive leverage was tied for the highest on the team. 

“We didn’t shoot it the best. Holloway and Wrightsell shot 2-of-11 from three so we need to get our legs back. The double overtime game from Wednesday could have played a factor, but we have (Sunday) off. Hopefully, we can keep the defensive effort from the guards and do better on the glass.”

Team Stats 

• After going his first 60 career games without a double-double, Aiden Sherrell now has a double-double in two consecutive games, equalling Amari Allen’s feat from earlier this season (Dec. 3 and Dec. 7)
• The Crimson Tide’s 10 three’s on the night make it the eighth straight game accomplishing that feat
• Alabama’s 90 points are the second most scored on the Tigers all year and its 18th time this season scoring 90 points or more
• UA’s 30 made free throws are its most shots made from the charity stripe this season
• Aiden Sherrell’s four blocks this game mark his 10th time this season with a game of three or more swats

First Half  

• The Tide opened the game strong on defense, limiting the Tigers to just two field goals across its opening seven shot attempts while also forcing two turnovers to take an early 6-4 lead
• Despite a field goal drought spanning five and a half minutes, two big treys by Amari Allen and Aiden Sherrell tied the ball game at 21 apiece with 6:44 left in the half
• A 15-5 run from 5:22-1:29 (3:53), including seven consecutive made field goals helped the TIde take a 41-32 lead with 1:29 left until intermissiom
• A 6-0 LSU run over the final 90 seconds trimmed Alabama’s lead to three points, 43-40, at the break
• Aden Holloway led the Tide at the half with 10 points and three dimes on 3-of-5 shooting from the field including 4-of-4 from the charity stripe
• The Crimson Tide shot a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line in the first half 

Second Half  

• A 7-of-13 shooting start to the half by the Tide saw them outscore LSU 17-9 in the opening minutes to extend the lead to double digits, 60-49, with 14:08 left in the game 
• Eight early offensive rebounds leading to the same amount of second chance points helped Alabama maintain a double-digit advantage, 71-58, with 7:55 remaining 
• A 10-3 LSU run over two and a half minutes brought the Tide’s lead to within single-digits, 77-68, with 4:40 remaining in the game
• The Tigers got as close as six, but late free throws from the Tide fended off any LSU chance of coming back
• Latrell Wrightsell Jr. had 10 of his 14 total points in the second half in large part to his 7-of-8 shooting from the free throw line
• Alabama ended the stanza with 11 offensive boards totaling 11 points for the Tide

Up Next

• The Crimson Tide heads back home to Coleman Coliseum for a Wednesday night tipoff against the Mississippi State Bulldogs 
• Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT at Coleman Coliseum and can be seen on ESPNU