Head coach Anthony Grant and company did not want to duplicate its poor performance against Auburn when it faced rival LSU. The Alabama men’s basketball team responded and defeated the Tigers 60-57 on Saturday in Coleman Coliseum.
Alabama (15-8, 7-3 SEC) downed LSU (13-8, 4-6 SEC) despite shooting only 35.2 percent (19-54) from the floor and 11.1 percent (2-18) from behind the arc.
Grant credited the team’s overall defense for the win.
“I’m proud of the effort our guys put forth today,” Grant said. “I thought our focus and the effort was there from start to finish. I thought our defense won the game for us. I thought in the first half we were really aggressive offensively. We got good shots that just didn’t fall for us, but our defensive effort never wavered in the second half.
“We struggled in some things, and those are learning opportunities. It’s good that you can learn and win. We were able to do that today, so we’ll take the lessons from that and hopefully make us a better team as we move forward.”
Junior guard Trevor Releford said the team’s resiliency helped the Tide claim its 15th victory.
“We just kept fighting,” Releford said. “They punched back, and we just stayed the course, kept playing. We were happy to get the win.”
Alabama struggled from the free throw line all night, as the Tide only converted 60.6 percent (20-33) of its attempts. Releford said his team needs to approach free throw attempts with a serious demeanor.
“It was a blessing for us to win, but at the same time, we know we’ve got to work on [free throws] in practice,” Releford said. “When coach tells us get to the line and shoot free throws, we’ve got to take it seriously. In another game we probably wouldn’t be lucky enough to win if it came down to free throws. We’ve just got to take our time next time and make them.”
Still, Alabama outrebounded the Tigers 43-36 and capitalized with 14 second-chance. The Tide also forced 12 turnovers and junior center Moussa Gueye blocked four shots.
Sophomore forward Nick Jacobs led the Tide with 15 points off the bench. Releford added 12 points, while Levi Randolph and Rodney Cooper each tallied 10 points.
“Nick Jacobs was huge tonight,” Releford said. “He had some tough rebounds, made his free throws at the line. When Nick Jacobs plays like that we’re a tough team to beat.”
For LSU, sophomore forward Johnny O’Bryant III scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Alabama did not have an answer for him all night, and Gueye fouled out of the game attempting the slow O’Bryant III down.
Grant praised O’Bryant III’s performance but still had eyes for his defense’s tenacity.
“I thought Johnny O’Bryant was terrific today,” he said. “He was aggressive going to the rim. He did a good job getting to the glass, as well. But I thought defensively, for us, we did really great.”
Alabama will face the Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. in Athens, Ga. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
