No. 18/16 Alabama Basketball Uses Three-Point Shooting Barrage to Blast LSU, 105-75

Thanks to an historic night from beyond-the-arc, the Crimson Tide routed the Bayou Bengals for a 30-point win

Tyler Martin | Jan 19, 2021

It was raining three-pointers inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Tuesday night as the University of Alabama men's basketball team broke the program and SEC record for triples in a single game and blasted LSU, 105-75.

"I was a little worried going into the game that we would be a little big-headed," coach Nate Oats said afterwards. "Our leaders made sure that didn't happen."

Crimson Tide senior guard John Petty Jr. led the way with a season-high 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting from beyond-the-arc. It tied the school-record for the most threes made in an SEC game.

From the jump, it was all Alabama and then some.

Petty made his first four three-pointers and freshman guard Josh Primo nailed two more from deep and the Crimson Tide found itself with an 18-4 lead at the first media timeout.

"What's going through my mind," Petty said postgame. "I know what I do and the work I put in. It doesn't really bother me. Shooting that well, it's just another day in the gym, another day in the lab."

Guard Jahvon Quinerly added two more treys to help extend the Crimson Tide's advantage to 35-12 with just over half of the first period remaining.

Alabama (12-3, 7-0 SEC) would go on to add five more triples to take a commanding 60-32 lead at intermission. The Crimson Tide made 14 of its 19 shots from three-point range in the first 20 minutes.

"This was a first place game," Oats said. "If they beat us, they'd be the No. 1 seed. Playing for first place in the SEC, to see so many guys shooting well, four three-pointers before the first media timeout.. We were on fire. Kinda ridiculous shooting first half."

As if it couldn't get any better in the second half for the visitors from Tuscaloosa, it did.

The Crimson Tide went on a 29-14 run to open the final period, taking a 43-point lead with 11 minutes remaining in the game. During that stretch, Alabama went 6-of-9 from downtown.

SEC HISTORY 🔥🔥@AlabamaMBB sets the SEC record for made threes in a game with 2️⃣3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/D7cSrlUl6Z
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 20, 2021

With 7:39 to go, freshman wing Darius Miles tied the school-record for three-point makes in a single game at 22 to keep Alabama's lead at 40, 96-56.

Miles would later break the record with his second triple at the 3:01 mark, putting the final touch on the Crimson Tide's 30-point victory. The Crimson Tide finished the contest 23-of-43 from deep, which is good for 53 percent.

Primo and Quinerly added 22 points each, with both of them making six three-pointers respectively. Wing Herb Jones poured in 13 points, five assists, and three rebounds.

Alabama made 15 of its 25 other shots from two-point range. It also out-rebounded the Tigers, 43-40, and dished out 20 assists to the Bayou Bengals' 10.

Defensively, the Crimson Tide smothered LSU to only convert on five of its 26 three-point shot attempts. The Tigers shot just 37 percent from the field on 28-of-74 attempts.

It was the eighth-straight win for Alabama and now it has moved up to No. 10 in the KenPom rankings.

For LSU (10-3, 5-2 SEC), freshman guard Cameron Thomas scored a team-high 21 points on 6-of-17 shooting, including a 1-of-6 clip from beyond-the-arc. Tigers forward Trendon Watford had 11 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks.

Next up for the first-place Crimson Tide is a meeting with Mississippi State (9-6, 4-3 SEC) on Saturday evening (5 p.m, SEC Network) inside Coleman Coliseum.

"It's been real fun," Petty said of the team's eight-game winning streak. "I feel like Coach [Oats] always tells us, once the tide rises, all the boats rise.

"It's always fun winning."

Published Jan 19, 2021

TYLER MARTIN

Tyler Martin is a staff writer with Bama Central and has been covering the Crimson Tide since August of 2019. He emphasizes in recruiting, football, and basketball, while covering all other Alabama athletics.