Alabama beats South Carolina, advances to semifinals of SEC Tournament
The rematch didn’t quite live up to its predecessor, but the Alabama basketball team will take it anyway.
The Crimson Tide extended its run in the SEC Tournament one more game Friday, taking down South Carolina 64-53 inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The win was Alabama’s second over the South Carolina this season, as the Tide beat the Gamecocks 90-86 in a four-overtime thriller in Columbia, S.C. on Feb. 7.
With the victory, Alabama (19-13) will move on to face Kentucky (27-5) in the semifinals at noon on Saturday. South Carolina moves to 22-10 with the loss.
Tide's top performers
On a day when Alabama’s offense struggled to produce, its youngest member rose to the occasion. SEC All-Freshman Team member Braxton Key led the Tide with 18 points on 6 of 8 shooting. The true freshman was 2 of 3 from beyond the arc and had seven rebounds on the afternoon.
Riley Norris also had a big day with 12 points, all scored in the second half. The junior hit a couple of big 3s late to help the Tide maintain the lead. Avery Johnson Jr. had nine points, while Dazon Ingram and Donta Hall had seven apiece.
The difference maker
Alabama also dominated inside, out-rebounding South Carolina 42-27 while outscoring the Gamecocks 16-6 on second-chance points. Bola Olaniyan led the Tide with 10 rebounds, while Ingram also came up big on the boards with six, including a team-high four offensive rebounds.
South Carolina was also hindered by a poor performance from the free-throw line, making just 57 percent (13 of 23) on the afternoon.
It was over when...
Dazon Ingram made both of his free throws to put Alabama up 62-53 with 52 seconds remaining. The two free throws were part of a run of nine straight for the Tide, which has struggled at times from the line this season. Alabama shot 71 percent (15 of 21) from the line in the game.
Next up
The win sets No. 5 seed Alabama up with a difficult matchup against No. 1 seed Kentucky in the first semifinal of the day Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for noon and will be televised on ESPN.
Kentucky beat Georgia 71-60 Friday to advance to the matchup. The Tide lost to the Wildcats in the teams’ only matchup this season, falling 67-58 in Tuscaloosa on Feb. 11. Key led Alabama with a game-high 21 points in that game, while Kentucky was led by freshman SEC Freshman of the Year Malik Monk who scored 17 points.
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