Alabama Crimson Tide basketball overcomes slow start to bury FAU

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Just keep shooting.

For the second straight game, it appeared as though Alabama basketball was going to pay for a slow night from beyond the arc. After shooting just 28.9 percent (11 of 38) during its season-opening loss to Penn, the Crimson Tide started a dismal 2 of 10 from range Monday night against Florida Atlantic.

During times like those first-year head coach Nate Oats’ message to his team is simple: “take ‘em if they’re open.”

Alabama did just that, shooting through its early slump in time to bury FAU by halftime en route to a 78-59 victory inside of Coleman Coliseum. The win is Oats’ first as the Crimson Tide’s head coach.

With Alabama clinging to a 25-23 lead late in the first half against a Conference USA opponent, Kira Lewis Jr. hit a corner 3 to end a string of four straight misses from beyond the arc for the Crimson Tide. Then Alabama began to heat up. The Crimson Tide hit its next two 3s while closing out the half on an 18-2 run to go into the break up 43-25.

During that span, Alabama a gritty Alabama defense held FAU to 1 of 8 shooting while forcing three turnovers.

"We talk about pounding the stone all the time," Oats said. "If we just play hard on defense, we're going to crack them eventually. We'll go on a big run, and that's what happened. I thought our defensive intensity stayed where it needed to be. Whether we hit shots or don't hit shots, it can't affect our effort on the defensive end. Eventually, we'll kind of crack the stone and go on a run, and that's what we did tonight."

Alabama ended the night 9 of 29 (32 percent) from beyond the arc but made the shots when it mattered to put away an overmatched FAU team. After shooting 3 of 13 (23 percent) from distance during his first collegiate game last week, freshman Jaden Shackelford found his groove Monday night. The sharp-shooting left-hander finished with 17 points on 4 of 7 shooting from beyond the arc.

While Alabama started slow from deep, it utilized a series of back-door sets to take advantage of easy baskets down low. Despite fielding a starting five with three players 6-foot-4 or smaller, the Crimson Tide held a 34-26 advantage in the paint while outrebounding the Owls 45-32.

Three Alabama players made their starting debuts for the Crimson Tide as West Virginia James “Beetle” Bolden alternated the point guard position with Lewis while freshman Jaylen Forbes played at the four and redshirt freshman Javian Davis served as the only starter over 6-foot-9. John Petty Jr. was the remaining starter for Alabama.

Davis finished the game with a game-high 19 points and nine rebounds. Lewis scored 16 points while recording six rebounds and doling out a team-high eight assists. Alex Reese had 12 points and eight rebounds, while Petty had nine points and eight rebounds.

Alabama’s small-ball starting lineup was partially spurred on by the absence of 6-foot-7 wing Herbert Jones, who missed the game after hyper-extending his left elbow in the opener. Alabama’s depth at the wing position was already decimated by season-ending injuries to 6-foot-5 freshman Juwan Gary and 6-foot-8 JUCO transfer James Rojas who both tore their ACLs during the preseason.

Alabama’s depth also took a hit earlier in the day as sophomore Jahvon Quinerly saw his eligibility appeal denied by the NCAA, keeping him out for this season. The Crimson TIde was hopeful the Villanova transfer might be able to make his Alabama debut as early as Monday. Instead, the Crimson Tide was forced to play Lewis 37 minutes as Bolden fouled out with 14:09 remaining.

Alabama will hit the road for the first time this season as it travels to Rhode Island for a game on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT on NBCSN. The Rams are 1-1 on the season with a 76-65 win against Long Island University and a 73-55 loss to No. 7 Maryland.

Following the game against Rhode Island, Alabama will begin play in the Battle 4 Atlantis as it hosts Furman on Nov. 19. After that, the Crimson Tide will travel to Grand Paradise Island, Bahamas to take on No. 6 North Carolina on Nov. 27 in the non-campus round portion of the tournament.

Contact Andrew Bone for all of your real estate needs; buyers, sellers, investors, developers. Property management; BoneHomeTours.com Call 205-531-5577 or click here