No. 10 Alabama basketball holds off Drake, 80-71
The No. 10 ranking is still weighing heavily on Alabama basketball. After rattling off four straight wins inside Coleman Coliseum, the Crimson Tide looked poised to take ESPN Events Invitational by storm this week.
Instead, Alabama has struggled to find its form against mid-major competition. After straying from its hot start in an opening loss to Iona on Thursday, the Tide flirted with another upset loss, allowing Drake to hang around before finally downing the Bulldogs 80-71 on Friday.
Still, a win is a win, and head coach Nate Oats isn't complaining.
"To bounce back after a loss like yesterday, a disappointing loss where you're upset, the guys could have hung their heads and not played hard," Oats said. "I thought we played really hard."
Tied with roughly five minutes to play, Alabama was finally able to pull away as it used a 13-3 run to go up 74-64 with 2:10 remaining. The spurt featured a 7-point swing as Jaden Shackelford contributed two jumpers while also providing a nice driving assist to find an open Jahvon Quinerly for a 3.
"He was huge," Oats said of Shackelford. "I thought he made the right plays. I told our team, maybe that was the play of the game when he drove, collapsed three guys in transition instead of shooting a shot. He's wired to score, that's what makes him so good. But I thought he made the right plays."
Shackelford had 14 points to go with five rebounds and four assists. Meanwhile, Quinerly led Alabama (5-1) with 18 points to go with four assists.
For the first time this season, Nate Oats tweaked his starting lineup, inserting forward Juwan Gary in place of Noah Gurley. The move ended up paying off as Gary recorded his second double-double of the season, recording a career-high 14 points to go with 10 rebounds, including four offensive boards. The 6-foot-6 redshirt sophomore also came up big on defense, recording two steals while earning the team's blue-collar award.
"I felt confident," said Gary, who missed two games with an ankle injury before returning to action against Iona on Thursday. "I had my teammates out there to help me get back in the flow of the system. Of course, Coach is trusting me to go out there and start and just give out that energy and that blue-collar [effort]. Just to go out there and help my team get a W was a big deal to me."
Drake (3-2) was led by guard D.J. Wilkins with 17 points while forwards ShanQuan Hemphill and guard Tucker DeVries had 15 points apiece.
Leading by as many as 15 points in the first half, Alabama fell behind Drake midway through the second period as an 11-2 run gave the Bulldogs a 56-52 lead with 8:56 remaining.
Alabama also continued to leave its 3-point shooting back home in Tuscaloosa as it went just 5 of 19 from beyond the arc. The Tide was 5 of 17 from deep during its 72-68 loss to Iona on Thursday. It was the same from the free-throw line as Alabama shot 13 of 22 (59.1%) against Friday after making 13 of 25 (52%) the night before.
There were glimmers of the Alabama team that ripped off four straight wins to start the season. The Tide flashed its patented blue-collar defense to spur a 23-4 run to take a 33-18 lead in the first half. The Tide forced seven turnovers during that span, converting them into 8 points on the other end.
However, that comfortable advantage was short-lived as Drake closed off the half with 11 straight points, capped off by a buzzer-beating 3 from Hemphill.
Alabama will wrap up its play in the tournament on Sunday as it takes on Miami (4-2) for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff. The Hurricanes opened up tournament play with a 76-60 loss to Dayton before beating North Texas 69-63 on Friday.
Following Sunday’s game, Alabama will begin its toughest stretch of the season. The Tide faces No. 1 Gonzaga in Seattle on Dec. 4 before hosting No. 12 Houston on Dec. 11. From there, the Tide will to No. 9 Memphis on Dec. 14.