BATON ROUGE, La. - LSU basketball coach Johnny Jones didn't need an extra twist of the knife and Corban Collins is far too nice to want to deliver one.

It happened anyway.

Collins, who left LSU after one season and found his way to Alabama as a fifth-year senior, poured in 24 points - including 7 of 11 3-pointers - and helped spark a furious finish as the Crimson Tide blew open a tie game in the final five minutes to take an 81-66 win over the Tigers.

The score was tied at 56-56 with 4:45 to play when Riley Norris, who complemented Collins' big game with a 20-point performance, hit back-to-back 3-pointers, igniting Alabama on a 25-10 run.

"In our last game, we threw the ball all over the gym," Alabama head coach Avery Johnson said. "Tonight we executed, especially in the second half. We protected the basketball, made some shots and our rebounding came around. So it was a tale of two games and of two halves for us.

"Corban Collins was unbelievable," Johnson said. "He made shots for us, kept us calm. That was why we recruited him, because we needed a shooter. To be fair to him, he's been injured and we've missed him. He came out tonight and played like we know he's capable."

“I have the utmost respect for this school, for the program for Johnny Jones himself,” said Collins, who spent three years between SEC stops at Morehead State. “It was never anything negative toward him or LSU. Coming back, being able to play here, is something I never thought I’d do. Now that I was able to do it, I enjoyed it.”

Collins said it wasn't a back-home edge that promoted his big scoring night.

"I feel like I'm a shooter," he said. "Any gym I step into, I feel like I can shoot."

Alabama struggled with foul problems and a slow shooting start for the first 35 minutes, but managed to stay within two to six points during that time.

"Part of coaching is trying to sense momentum," Johnson said. "That's coaching, as much as X's and O's are coaching. We wanted something different after our last game. We changed up our whole routine. At our last 2:30 (tipoff time) game, we shot around at about 11 in the morning. Today we were here at 7:30 a.m. and it helped."

The other key in Alabama's last stretch was sophomore Donta Hall, who finished with 13 points, including a stretch of four vicious dunks as Alabama pulled away.

"I didn't command him I didn't demand anything," Johnson said. "I asked him politely, 'Would you please wake up?' And he did.

"We know what he's capable of. He stopped settling for mid-range jumps and made strong power moves."

Center Duop Reath had 12 points and nine rebounds for LSU, now 9-7 overall and 1-4 in the SEC.

Alabama (10-6, 3-1 SEC) will host Missouri on Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa.

Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil@tidesports.com or 205-722-0225.