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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball has a new five-star guard leading the way. Spurred on by five 3-pointers from John Petty Jr., the Crimson Tide had no problem putting away Southern, 82-62, in its season-opener Tuesday night in Coleman Coliseum.
Playing without NBA Draft lottery pick Collin Sexton, Alabama turned to its other five-star signee from last year as Petty went 5 of 8 from beyond the arc to finish the night with 17 points.
“He looked strong tonight,” Alabama head coach Avery Johnson said. “I thought he had good balance, good base, good rhythm to his game offensively. I just think he wants to have a big year, and he understands that he’s got to play well at home and on the road and neutral site games. He’s a guy that we can run some stuff for on the offensive end.”
While Petty filled in for Sexton’s production on the scoresheet, it was true freshman Kira Lewis Jr., who took over at point guard in the Crimson Tide’s starting lineup. Lewis, who was originally a member of the 2019 class before reclassifying in time to play this season, held his own on the court by chipping in a team-high seven assists to go with six points.
Johnson originally planned to start Dazon Ingram, but the redshirt junior was unable to go with an ankle injury he sustained in Thursday’s practice. Following the game, Johnson said Ingram is "still improving," but that the guard is still day-to-day.
Senior forward Donta Hall put together a near-perfect performance, converting on 8 of 9 shots to lead the team with a career-high 20 points. Hall set a single-season school record last season, converting 72.6 percent of his shots — most coming from an SEC-best 75 dunks. Tuesday night, the 6-foot-9 forward had just two dunks and showed an improved range from the court.
"Honestly I’ve been able to shoot, I just decided to bring it out today," Hall said with a smile. “Just facing up. I’m more of a face-up guy than I am honestly just backing down in the post. I feel like that’s what I have to do more this year.”
Tuesday also saw the debut of former Texas transfer Tevin Mack, who scored 10 points to go with six rebounds.
Alabama shot 49 percent from the floor while holding Southern to 38 percent. The Crimson Tide also won the battle on the boards, out-rebounding the Jaguars 45-31 and outscoring them 32-22 in the paint.
It was over when
Mack flexed his arms after putting back a rebound and drawing a foul seconds before the half. The junior’s ensuing free-throw capped off a 13-1 run for Alabama and helped the Crimson Tide head into the half with a commanding 47-27 lead over the Jaguars.
Leading 20-18 with 9:10 left in the first half, Alabama went on a 9-0 run to build the comfortable separation that would last for the remainder of the game. Seven of those nine points came on free throws as the Crimson Tide made 12 of 16 shots from the line in the first half.
Next up
Alabama will look to keep things going on Sunday as it hosts Appalachian State at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network as part of the Charleston Classic. The Mountaineers return senior guard Ronshad Shabazz, who led the team in scoring the past two years including an average of 18.5 points per game last season.
Following Sunday’s game, Alabama will travel to Charleston, S.C. to finish out the remainder of the Charleston Classic. The Crimson Tide will take on Northeastern on Nov. 15 before playing either Ball State or Virginia Tech the following day. The final day of the tournament will be on Nov. 18.
