Bama Central

Juwan Gary Leads Alabama in Gutsy Victory

The sophomore forward scored a career high in the first half in Alabama's 83-82 win over Houston.

Clayton Connick

Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The hardhat award is a staple of the Alabama basketball program, and Juwan Gary seems to frequent the hardware. 

"It's ironic how it works," head coach Nate Oats said postgame. "Guys that play really hard, make a lot of blue-collar plays, tend to have pretty good scoring game a lot of times." 

Entering Saturday night's matchup with Houston, Gary's career high in scoring was 14 points against Drake two and a half weeks ago. With 3:56 before halftime, Gary had surpassed that total with 16 points. 

"Everybody contributed to me getting a career high," Gary said. "I wouldn't say it was just from me." 

"He's been playing really hard for us," Oats said. "He's been finding ways to slash, get to the rim." 

Gary got off to a hot start, as he and Bediako scored five each of Alabama's first ten points. His scoring began with a three from the corner, tying the game at seven. He was also productive from the charity stripe, sinking 6-of-9 from the line. It was a career high in free throws made and attempted for Gary as well. 

"He hit the one three, got to the free throw line and was pretty good at the free throw line," Oats said. 

Beginning at the 6:44 mark in the first half, Gary was Alabama's lone scorer for nine straight points, including a 6-0 Crimson Tide run. 

"This was going to be a tough physical game. Juwan's arguably our most physical, toughest player," Oats said. "He's got a body for it. He's a big, strong kid. 

Gary's production slowed down in the second half, as he finished with 19 for the game. However, his presence on the floor was still felt as he did not turn the ball over in 29 his minutes of play, which were also a career high. 

"He answered the bell for us in a huge way for us tonight," Oats said. "He's just been all about winning, making the right plays, trying to figure out what he can do to help us win. 

"I was happy as can be for Juwan tonight." 

It was Gary's fourth double-digit scoring performance of the season, and it came in a game that Alabama needed it most in a one-point, top-15 victory. 

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Clayton Connick
CLAYTON CONNICK

Clayton Connick is an intern for Bama Central and a senior at the University of Alabama. He covers recruiting, basketball, and baseball, and you can find him on Twitter @ConnickClayton. 

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