INSTANT ANALYSIS: Sexton, Petty lead Alabama's rout of Alabama A&M
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Collin Sexton looked up to the crowd in amazement, jokingly motioning for Alabama fans to contain themselves.
No such luck.
The freshman point guard brought Coleman Coliseum to its feet several times Friday night. However, he never drew a bigger applause than when he drained a half-court shot at the buzzer to end the first half. At that point, Sexton had about as much luck quieting the applause as Alabama A&M had at silencing Alabama — which by that point was virtually nil.
Alabama cruised to its third straight victory to start the season, easily downing Alabama A&M 104-67. Sexton finished with 25 points to go with four rebounds and five assists. While his 3 was the biggest shot of the game, fellow freshman John Petty had the biggest night from beyond the arc. Petty scored a career-high 30 points on 10 3s, a new Alabama school record. The Crimson Tide shot a blazing 63 percent (40 of 63) from the floor, including 59 percent (16 of 27) from beyond the arc.
Alabama now moves to 3-0 on the season, while Alabama A&M drops to 0-3.
Here are some notes from Friday night’s game:
Tide's top performers
After scoring 22 points Tuesday in his collegiate debut against Lipscomb, Sexton had an even more impressive showing Friday night. After missing three early shots in the first half, the freshman caught fire, finishing the night 11 of 16 from the court.
However, no one was hotter than Petty, who scored all his points on 3-point shots. The reigning Mr. Basketball in Alabama finished the night 10 of 13 from the court, never taking a shot inside the three-point line. Petty was 5 of 6 from 3 at the half. His 10th 3 came on a fade-away jumper near the top of the arc, once again leaving his defender helpless. Following the shot, an emotional Petty turned to the crowd in celebration.
Joining the freshman duo in double-figures was Dazon Ingram, who finished with 10 points to go with six rebounds and four assists. Alex Reese finished with nine points and eight rebounds, while fellow freshman Herbert Jones had seven points and eight rebounds. Donta Hall had eight points and six rebounds.
It was over when
Alabama walked out onto the floor. In all seriousness, this one was never close. The Crimson Tide jumped out to a 10-0 run to start the game and went into the half up 51-22 after Sexton’s half-court shot.
Alabama never struggled in the game and appeared to be having fun with Alabama A&M at times. Avery Johnson Jr. left a layup off the glass for Sexton to slam home in the first half and later set up an alley-oop to Galin Smith in the second half. The two dunks were just a few moments that drew thunderous applause from a satisfied crowd.
Difference maker
Along with its stellar shooting, Alabama was also dominant on the boards. Heading into the game, head coach Avery Johnson stressed the importance of better rebounding after the Crimson Tide was out-rebounded 47-40 earlier in the week against Lipscomb.
Alabama responded to their coach’s challenge Friday night, more than doubling Alabama A&M’s rebounds 47-23. Thirteen of those rebounds came on the offensive end, which led to 13 second-change points. The success on the boards was a team effort as four different players had five rebounds or more.
Next up
Alabama will host the University of Texas-Arlington on Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT inside of Coleman Coliseum. The game will be televised on SEC Network. UT Arlington is currently 1-0 after beating Loyola Marymount 85-80 in its season opener. Last year the Mavericks were 25-8 and 14-4 in the Sun Belt Conference. They won the regular-season conference title but lost to Texas State in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Following Tuesday’s game, Alabama will travel to Brooklyn, N.Y. for the Barclays Center Classic where it will face BYU on Nov. 24 and Minnesota on Nov. 25. Earlier this week