Alabama Men’s Basketball No. 16 takes most of the long trip to Seattle, disappointing No. 3 Gonzaga
MATCH – Jaden Shackelford scored 20 of his 28 points in the first half, Jahvon Quinerly and JD Davison both hit the crucial 3-pointers, and No 16 Alabama staged a big rally in Gonzaga’s second half to a 91-82 win over the third-placed Bulldogs on Saturday night.
The Crimson Tide (7-1) had taken 10 of 13 3-pointers in the first half, led by Shackelford’s sharp long shot. Alabama led 16 at halftime and endured every charge the Bulldogs made in the second half to lose to Gonzaga for the second time in three games.
Gonzaga led to 18 early in the second half, but pulled in the 76-72 round. The Bulldogs missed several opportunities to cut the deficit, and Davison and Quinerly hit three in a row to give the Crimson Tide a big stepping stone.
Shackelford took 10 of his 16 shots and all of his six trebles came in the first half. Davison finished with 20 points from the bench and Quinerly added 17 points for the Crimson Tide team that capped a memorable day in their athletics. The men’s basketball victory came hours after the soccer team won the SEC championship in Atlanta.
Drew Timme Gonzaga (7-2) lead by 23 points, but it was another stunning offensive performance from Zags, who lost to Duke last week in Las Vegas and looked lethargic in his win over Tarleton State earlier in the week.
Julian Strawther got 13 points, and Anton Watson and Chet Holmgren 10 for Gonzaga each, but the Bulldogs failed to take shots outside the box at key moments and struggled at the free-throw line.
Alabama led 53-35 in the first seconds of the second half, Gonzaga pulled in 74-70 and 76-72 on Watson’s recovery basket with a 5:27 left, the closest the Bulldogs had since the end of the first half.
Gonzaga was empty for the next three possessions and Davison’s 3-pointer pushed Alabama’s lead to seven with 3:33 remaining. Quinerly added a 3 the next time around for Alabama and the lead was 10.
The Crimson Tide missed five consecutive 3-point attempts before Davison made it.
Shackelford was almost perfect in the first half, taking 7/8 shots and 6 3-pointers. His 3rd step back at halftime gave Alabama a 51-35 lead at halftime. Shackelford has yet to hit more than five threes in a game this season. More than half of Alabama’s first-half goals came from behind the 3-pointer line with 10 3s and just 8 in the arc.
Zags, meanwhile, was terrible at the free-throw line, finishing 13 out of 25 and missing the first of situations one and a few times. Entering the match, the Bulldogs were 71.2% away from the line.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
