Alabama Crimson Tide Defeats No. 19 Gamecocks
In Four Overtimes
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics/Kent Gidley |
COLUMBIA, South Carolina - Two of the best defenses in the Southeastern Conference. Balls swatted down. Shots rejected. Balls stuffed into the faces of shooters.
Nope.
In a game that was billed as going to be a defensive battle, the offenses showed up to play. The University of Alabama Crimson Tide took South Carolina to four overtimes at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina to beat the league-leading Gamecocks 90-86.
An exuberant Alabama men's basketball head coach Avery Johnson said, "We'll be watching this game 10 years from now." He later told the folks of the SEC Network that in the SEC they needed to put this one down as "the game of the year."
For the Gamecocks, Sindarius Thornwell was huge. He scored a career-best 44 points to lead all scorers on the night and hauled down 21 rebounds. Thornwell also scored a record 25 free throws, surpassing the late, great "Pistol" Pete Maravich who had 21 free throws in an SEC contest.
Avery Johnson, Jr. led the Crimson Tide in scoring with 23 points with 44 minutes of playing time, helping Bama improve its record to 14-9 overall, 7-4 SEC. South Carolina fell to 19-5, 9-2 SEC. This was Alabama's first true road win over a Top-25 team since 2004.
"You have to take your hats off to both teams," Johnson said. "We fought tonight and showed a lot of character. We are coming off a deflating loss at home and I challenged these guys. We changed the way we prepare for games. We were able to jump on them at the start of the game and that gave us momentum throughout the game. Obviously they made a run to get it to overtime, but there was no quit in our team tonight.
"This was an SEC classic game - a game we will probably be watching 10 years from now. This was an outstanding game. I'm glad we were able to overcome a lot of adversity and bounce back to get the win. I'm proud of our guys; I can't say that enough. They never quit on us as a staff and never quit on each other."
In addition to Johnson, Jr., Alabama had two other players to finish in double figures. Junior guard Ar'Mond Davis came off the bench to score a career-best 19 points, while junior guard/forward Riley Norris collected his third career double-double and his first this season pumping in 11 points and a season-high 14 rebounds. Norris scored six of his 11 points in the final overtime, including the go-ahead free throws with 56 seconds left in the contest.
At the end of regulation the game was knotted at 57-57. At the end of the first overtime the scoreboard showed 63-63 as the Tide tried a corner shot just before the buzzer to try to end the game. At the end of the second overtime it was 74-74 as Bama had to overcome a seven-point deficit to force a third overtime. The score was 82-82 at the end of the third overtime as the Crimson Tide was unable to convert on a last shot after holding the ball the final 23 seconds.
The fourth and final OT had both teams swapping basketballs for the first two minutes, but then Norris was able to notch four free throws while the Bama defense held to allow the Crimson Tide the upset win.
The big difference in the game was Alabama's bench coming on strong, outscoring the Gamecock bench by a 56-5 margin. The Crimson Tide again won the battle of the boards for the 10th time in 11 SEC games, out-rebounding South Carolina 61-52. The Tide shot 42 percent from the field on the night, while shooting 30 percent from beyond the arc.
Alabama will be back in action this Saturday, February 11th when it hosts 15th-ranked Kentucky at Coleman Coliseum. The game is set to begin at noon CT and will be broadcast on CBS.
| Game Stats | UA | SC |
|---|---|---|
| FG% | .423 | .261 |
| 3FG% | .296 | .161 |
| FT% | .667 | .700 |
| RB | 62 | 52 |
| TO | 24 | 14 |
| STL | 6 | 11 |
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics/Kent Gidley |
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics/Kent Gidley |
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Saban Reacts To Sarkisian Departure
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Search Begins For New Crimson Tide Offensive Coordinator
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| UA Football head coach Nick Saban Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - For the second time in less than two months University of Alabama football needs a new offensive coordinator, meaning the third person to hold the position in that same time period. It all began when then-OC Lane Kiffin accepted the head coaching position for FAU. Alabama head coach Nick Saban then took just departed-OC Steve Sarkisian from an offensive analyst position and elevated him to the OC position. Kiffin departed one game sooner than previously set, so Sarkisian served as the OC for the national championship game. Now Sarkisian moves on down the road as the new offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL, and Saban is again looking. (And don't think for a moment this wasn't already being worked out by Saban.)
Saban issued a brief statement on Tuesday following the announcement of Sarkisian being named Atlanta's new offensive coordinator. Saban said, "We appreciate all Coach Sarkisian did for our program during his
time here. He is an outstanding coach, and
we wish him the best in his new role as Atlanta's offensive coordinator.
As always, when we have an opening on our staff, we will use it as an
opportunity to go out and hire the best coach available."
More than likely talks have already been going on concerning filling the position, even before news broke of Sark's looming departure for his new position. Names are being floated by the press, of course.
Those who seem to be garnering the most attention from the various sports outlets are current Alabama co-offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, just-departed Billy Napier who was just name OC for Arizona State, Chip Kelly who is certainly familiar with the type offense Saban has been moving toward and finally Mark Helfrich who was also the former Oregon head coach.
While other names are out there, these four seem to be getting the most attention, and rightly so. All are really good coaches. And two of those four already know the Alabama system.
Time will tell. All eyes will be on the Birmingham and Tuscaloosa airports for visiting former and/or current coaches.
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Alabama Gymnastics
Kiana Winston & Nickie Guerrero Earn SEC Honors
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| UA Gymnasts Kiana Winston & Nickie Guerrero Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
Winston fought her way to the highest all-around total in the SEC this season in leading the Bama belles to a win over the Gators with a career-best 39.700. This is the third time this season that Winston has posted a career best in the all-around. She is one of only four gymnasts in the nation to score 39.7 or better this season and the only one from the SEC. Winston also scored one of just three 10.0s on the floor exercise in the nation this season on Friday.
It was Winston's 10.0 on the floor exercise that launched the Crimson Tide to a 49.625 team score, the highest in the SEC this season. Winston also won the uneven bars with a 9.95 and was second on the beam with a 9.9. Her scores also helped propel Bama to a 197.825 team mark, the highest in the nation last week and tied for the highest in the SEC this season.
Guerrero was outstanding in her performance this past Friday, winning the vault and balance beam against Florida and all three of her scores achieved 9.9 or better. She posted season-best 9.9 on the floor exercise to lift the Tide to a 49.625 team score, the sixth-highest floor total in school history. Her winning 9.925 on the vault helped the Tide tie its season best of 49.375.
Alabama gymnastics takes to the road, traveling to Lexington, Kentucky to battle the 10th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats this Friday, February 10th. Match time is set for 6 p.m. CT.
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Tristan Johnson Is New Alabama Volleyball Asst. Coach
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| Tristan Johnson Alabama Volleyball Assistant Coach Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
University of Alabama volleyball head coach Ed Allen was enthusiastic in his announcement, saying, "I'm excited to bring Tristan back home. He is a bright young coach that has a great deal to offer to the profession and this institution. He was a big part of the team while he was here as an undergraduate and was instrumental in helping build this program."
A 2014 graduate of the University of Alabama, Johnson spent two seasons as a student assistant, including the 2013 season that concluded with the team's first NCAA Tournament appearance under Allen. Allen started out at Blinn College, where he worked with the Buccaneers' national champion volleyball team that went undefeated in 2011, and then transferred to Alabama
Following Johnson's graduation from UA, he spent three seasons at Arkansas State, where he served as the assistant coach in 2014 and 2015 before being promoted to associate head coach in his third season in 2016. He helped lead the Red Wolves to a 25-8 overall and 15-1 conference record this past season, and the team picked up a Sun Belt western division title. The team earning a Sun Belt west division title. Johnson was honored in 2015 when he was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association's "Thirty Under 30" list of up-and-coming volleyball coaches. In addition to his college coaching, Johnson spent two summers as an intern with the U.S. Men's and Women's national teams, primarily coordinating practice video. In 2013, he served as the scout coach with the USA Volleyball Pan American Cup coaching staff.
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Bubba Thompson Chooses Crimson Tide Baseball
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| Bubba Thompson Photo via Twitter acct. |
Two sports in high school will become one sport for college. McGill-Toolen baseball and football star Bubba Thompson has decided on baseball. And he has decided to play for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Thompson made his announcement on Twitter on Tuesday.
Spring signing period for baseball will begin on April 12th. So, instead of signing with Auburn, the college for which he originally committed to play, Thompson will join Alabama.
Don't think his football fortunes had fallen. Not at all. Thompson had already received offers from the University of Tennessee as well as Ole Miss to continue his football career.
But baseball it is!
The 6' 2", 180-pound outfielder, was solid for the McGill-Toolen baseball team. He hit .469 with 39 runs scored, 19 stolen bases and 11 doubles for the Yellow Jackets as a junior. He was instrumental in helping his team reach the Class 7A state semifinals.
