At halftime of Alabama’s SEC opener against Texas A&M, the game looked like it would come down to the wire. Alabama’s 13-point lead had dwindled to three after a controversial buzzer-beating layup was allowed to stand, even after Alabama coach Anthony Grant came out of the locker room to contest the point with an SEC official.
By the end of the game, guard Ricky Tarrant tossed a pass off the backboard for trailing guard Levi Randolph to slam home, a celebratory exclamation point on Alabama’s 65-44 win over the Aggies.
“Proud of our guys for the performance tonight, opening SEC play,” Grant said. “We talk about the energy that we wanted to bring from the start and I thought we did a really good job of that.”
After shooting a meager 36.4 percent from the field and 20 percent from three in the first half, Alabama came alive in the second, shooting 52 percent and racking up 38 points while holding Texas A&M to only 20 points on 23 percent shooting.
“In the first half, we built a little bit of a lead and, give Texas A&M credit, they were able to get out in transition, get some second shots and cut into that lead,” Grant said. “During those times, I felt like our energy wasn’t the same. At halftime, we challenged the guys to come out from an energy standpoint, an effort standpoint, and redefine the energy again. I thought they did a great job from that, right from the start.”
Tarrant led the way for Alabama, scoring 15 points while swiping two steals and dishing three assists, including the off-the-glass pass to Randolph.
“Ricky did a great job of being aggressive and attacking, either getting to the rim, getting fouled or finding his teammates,” Grant said.
Guard Retin Obasohan posted a season-high 12 points off 4-of-7 shooting. Tarrant and Grant both credited the junior’s energy as vital to the team’s second half.
“I thought Retin came in and gave us a tremendous spark,” Grant said. “It was great to see him be as aggressive as he was, and I think as he continues to get more comfortable and healthy, we’ll see more of that.”
The performance was a rare burst of aggression from the Belgian, who has struggled with injury for much of the season.
“I want to thank my teammates and the coaching staff for just continuing to believe in me,” Obasohan said. “My coaches and my teammates always do a great job of encouraging me and telling me to stick with it and keep working at it, keep chopping away day by day, and I think today was a result of that.”
Defensively, Alabama put on one of its best performances of the season, holding the Aggies to the lowest total of any opponent to date.
“We played our-way defense, we stuck to our principles,” Tarrant said. “Coach, at halftime, he told us we had to pick the energy up and I think we did a great job of doing it. I think Riley [Norris] and Retin did a great job of just picking guys up not only offensively but defensively, and I think they lead the team tonight.”
Alabama will take its 1-0 conference record on the road, traveling to Tennessee on Saturday and South Carolina next week.
“The next challenge for us is to go on the road in SEC play,” Grant said. “It’s going to be a fun race. One down, 17 to go.”
