INSTANT ANALYSIS: Alabama basketball survives slow start in exhibition win

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball will have to wait until Friday before starting its highly-anticipated season for real. It’s probably a good thing too as the Crimson Tide spent the early parts of Monday night’s exhibition shaking off some preseason rust.

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Alabama defeated UAH 74-65 despite getting off to a sluggish start to the game. The Crimson Tide missed its first seven shots and allowed the Chargers to take an early 14-1 lead. Alabama went into the break trailing 35-33 before finally turning things around in the second half.

A couple thousand fans came to Coleman Coliseum to watch the exhibition. A large portion of them were there to catch their first live look at five-star freshman Collin Sexton. However, the point guard was held out amid FBI investigations involving the Alabama basketball program.

“The NCAA informed us late this afternoon that Colin Sexton has not had his eligibility reinstated by the NCAA,” Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne said in a statement released by the university. ““We don’t have any further information at this time, but we will continue to cooperate with the NCAA and work toward a resolution that results in Colin’s timely reinstatement.

“While we are disappointed, the right decision was to err on the side of caution for tonight’s exhibition game.”

Alabama was also without forwards Braxton Key (leg), Riley Norris (hip) and Ar’Mond Davis (knee) due to injuries.

Here are some notes from Monday night’s game:

Daniel Giddens was Alabama’s top performer of the night, recording a double-double with 17 points to go with 10 rebounds. The 6-foot-11, forward had to sit out last season after transferring from Ohio State. Monday, he showed an ability to score in the paint, something Alabama was lacking for most of last season.

Playing in his first game inside Coleman Coliseum, true freshman John Petty scored 14 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Fellow true freshman Herb Jones also had 14 points, including 12 in the second half, while Avery Johnson Jr. was also in double digits with 10 points. Dazon Ingram had nine points and six rebounds, while Donta Hall scored seven points with eight rebounds.

Alabama was able to dominate the boards, out-rebounding UAH 50-35. The Crimson Tide pulled down 18 offensive rebounds on the night allowing it to overcome an up-and-down shooting performance.

Alabama made 29 of its 66 shots from the floor (44 percent) while shooting a dismal 3 of 21 (14 percent) from beyond the arc. The Crimson Tide also struggled from the free-throw line, making just 13 of its 25 attempts. One area Alabama was able to take advantage of was down low as the Crimson Tide outscored the Chargers 46-23 in the paint.

Alabama was finally able to pull away late in the second half as the Crimson Tide went on a 10-0 run to take a 57-49 lead with 6:46 remaining. The run was capped off by a 3-pointer from Petty which reenergized the home crowd. From there, the Crimson Tide was able to hang on for a sloppy preseason win.

Following the game, Alabama head coach Avery Johnson said Key suffered a meniscus injury and is scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday.

“We’ll know more about his timeframe, how long he’s going to be out after the surgery,” Johnson said.”

Last year, Key led Alabama with 12 points per game and was second on the team with 5.7 rebounds per game.

Johnson said Norris is “on the mend.” Johnson said the senior forward is still week-to-week and should return to practice sometime next week along with Davis.

Alabama will open its regular season Friday at 5:30 p.m. when it faces Memphis in Annapolis, Md., as part of the Veterans Classic. The Crimson Tide will then return to Tuscaloosa on Nov. 14 for its home opener against Lipscomb.

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