Avery Johnson Jr. leads Alabama basketball to road win over Missouri
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No last-second heartbreak this times, just 40 minutes of hard-fought team basketball. Rebounding from a buzzer-beating defeat to Texas A&M over the weekend, Alabama stopped its two-game losing streak with a crucial 70-60 road victory over Missouri on Wednesday.
The Crimson Tide’s bench outscored Missouri’s bench 33-15 as nine Alabama players clocked at least 15 minutes. Backup point guard Avery Johnson Jr. led the team with a season-high 14 points on a night where starter Kira Lewis Jr. scored just 9 points.
Johnson, who came into the night 0-for-11 from beyond the arc, made two 3s, including one with 9:43 remaining to help Alabama regain momentum after Missouri chipped away at the Crimson Tide’s lead. The redshirt senior finished the night 5 of 10 from the floor.
Donta Hall recorded an SEC-best eight double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The double-double was his fifth in the last six games.
Alabama outmuscled Missouri as it won the rebounding battle 37-29 and held a 40-30 advantage in points in the paint. The Crimson Tide also played disciplined defense, holding Missouri to 42 percent shooting while only allowing the Tigers to make 10 trips to the line.
Next up
Alabama (11-5, 2-2 in the SEC) won’t get a break as it travels to face No. 3 Tennessee (15-1, 4-0) on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN 2. The Crimson Tide walloped the Volunteers last year with a 78-50 victory inside of Coleman Coliseum.
Tennessee is led by junior forward Grant Williams who averages a team-high 18.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per games. The Volunteers also feature senior guard Admiral Schofield, who averages 17.7 points and 6.3 rebounds. Junior point guard Jordan Bone leads Tennessee with 6.3 assists per game while averaging 13.4 points.
Following the game against Tennessee, Alabama returns home to take on another ranked opponent in No. 18 Ole Miss on Jan. 22.