The Alabama Crimson Tide improved to 2-0 in exhibition games after defeating Ole Miss 92-84 on Thursday night. The game was played in Birmingham’s iconic Boutwell Auditorium. Bama defeated Furman last Thursday and will wrap up their warm up games by playing Auburn next Thursday in Legacy Arena in Birmingham. The Tide ran out to big leads multiple times, but the Rebels fought back each time. Twenty turnovers by Bama helped Ole Miss hang around.
The Tide is still playing shorthanded again missing Aden Holloway, Anderson Diaz, Jaxon Richardson, and Preston Murphy Jr. Holloway and Diaz are expected to be the two main ball handlers for Alabama this year, and their absence was notable. Coach Nate Oats called on a starting five of; Amari Allen, Tarris Bouie, Cole Cloer, Brandon Garrison, and Jamarion Davis-Fleming.
Bama started off slowly, shooting 1-7 from the three point line in the first six minutes, and trailed 11-8 with 14:25 left in the half. Allen made a scoop shoot in the lane, Cloer made a pair of free throws and freshman Qayden Samuel’s hit from three for a 15-12 Alabama lead with 12 minutes remaining. A pair of quick turnovers led to the Rebels retaking the lead, for the last time, at 18-17. Tide big man Drew Fielder drilled a three pointer for a 20-20 tie with nine minutes on the clock. London Jemison, Allen, and Cloer all dialed in from long range for a 29-24 lead with 7:12 left. Cloer added a pair of free throws, and Bouie made a steal and a length of the court dash for a spectacular dunk. With 4:13 left in the half the margin was pushed out to 40-29.
However Ole Miss went on a 10-0 run to close within one right before the half. The Tide scored right before the buzzer to carry a 42-39 lead into the locker room.
In the first half Alabama shot 15-33 for 45% with 6-19 from deep for 32%, with 6-9 at the charity stripe. Bama had 24 rebounds with nine offensively, 10 assists, one block, three steals, and committed 12 big turnovers. Cloer led the way with 10 points and four assists. Samuels added seven points and three rebounds, Allen had seven points of his own and added three rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Fielder led the team with five rebounds at the break.
Ole Miss shot 16-32 for 50%, but was 0-9 from three point range. The Rebels were 7-11 at the line, had only 14 rebounds, with four assists, one block, eight steals, and committed five turnovers. Adams Clark and Roman Siulepa led the team with eight points each.
In the second half Allen and Cloer went on a duo run to push the Tide lead to 56-46 with 15:10 left in the game. The lead reached 18 before Ole Miss finally hit their first three pointer of the game with 10:35 left for a 65-50 score. With eight minutes left, Bama still lead 70-59, but the Rebels would not go away. With the lead down to five, Cloer hit a huge three pointer for a 76-68 lead with 6:15 in the game. Ole Miss took advantage of more Bama turnovers to close to 83-77 score with 3:25 left.
When Allen was fouled on a drive, Oats was served a technical foul, which he was flirting with all game. Ole Miss cut the lead to 85-81 with their two made free throws. Allen made only one of his two tries, and the score was 86-81 with 3:01 remaining in the game. The Rebels kept coming and had back to back possessions with a chance to tie or take the lead, but missed each time. Allen and Jemison both knocked down two free throws to close out the 92-84 victory.
In the second half the Tide shot 16-29 for 55%, 5-13 for 38% from deep, and 13-16 at the line. Overall Bama finished 31-62 for 50%, 11-32 from deep for 34%, and 19-25 for 76% at the free throw line. The team totaled 45 rebounds with 14 on the offensive side, dished out 19 assists, blocked two, made four steals, and turned the ball over 20 times- definitely missing the point guards. Allen led the way with 19 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Cloer hit 4-8 from deep and scored 18 points with two rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Jemison scored 13 with three rebounds, Samuels went for 12 points with five rebounds, one assists, but committed five turnovers. Davis-Fleming was active all night and notched 12 points on 6-7 shooting and helped the cause with four rebounds and a solo assist. Fielder was the sixth man in double digits and had a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards and picked up his first hard hat award.
Ole Miss shot 15-35 for 43% in the second with 4-11 for 36% from three and 11-13 at the free throw line. Overall the Rebels finished 31-67 for 46%, 4-20 for 20% from long range, and 18-24 for 75% at the free throw line. The Tide held OM to 28 rebounds, and the Rebels had 10 assists, three blocks, 12 steals, and committed only 10 turnovers. Corey Stephenson was the games high scorer with 25 points on 8-12 shooting. Clark added 15 points with seven assists, and five rebounds. Siuepa scored a dozen and Patton Pinkins added 11 tallies.
A good victory for the Tide over an SEC team-albeit one that is picked to finish toward the bottom of the league. Bama turned the ball over way too much, allowing the Rebels to stay within striking distance, despite clearly being the inferior team on the court. Alabama definitely will welcome Holloway back after he finishes the finally three games of his suspension. Diaz will be longer before getting back, but allowing Allen and Samuels to play more without the ball will be a big boost for the team. Richardson his a highly regarded, high flying player, that will also give the Tide a boost.
Next up Auburn in Legacy Arena next Thursday. Roll Tide