No. 13 Alabama men’s basketball lost its first SEC contest of the season 96-90 to No. 11 Vanderbilt on Wednesday in the Music City.
Star guard Labaron Philon Jr. began the game with 15 first-half points but left the floor early in the second half shortly after cashing in an and-one opportunity. He did not return to action and was not seen on the Crimson Tide’s bench until around the six-minute mark in the second half.
Alabama head coach Nate Oats said postgame that Philon suffered from “full-body cramps” and had to return to the locker room to receive an IV.
Forward Amari Allen stepped up in Philon’s absence and notched a new career high of 25 points, which led Alabama in scoring. Star guard Aden Holloway followed Allen with 22 points on 9/18 from the field.
An energized Memorial Gym seemed to give Alabama trouble early, as it quickly went down 13-5 at the first media timeout. Holloway was the only Crimson Tide player to score in the opening 4:11 of play.
“They were ready to go. We weren’t,” Oats said. “I’ve got to do a better job making sure our guys are ready at the beginning.”
Midway through the opening period, Alabama trailed by as many as 13 points. That was until Philon got going, after beginning the game with four turnovers.
Philon mustered a 7-0 run of his own that pulled Alabama within 6 points with 6:27 remaining. He knocked down a triple at the 2:49 mark, which gave the Crimson Tide its first lead since the score was 3-1 at the 18:44 mark.
Allen tossed in a tough layup that gave Alabama a slim 2-point advantage with eight seconds to go, but a defensive breakdown allowed Vanderbilt forward Tyler Nickell to lay in a game-tying 2-pointer just before the buzzer sounded.
From there, the game took place at the charity stripe.
An astounding 62 fouls were called in the game, the highest amount in a Division 1 game this season. Four players fouled out, and 13 players had three or more fouls called on them. In the second half, a combined 58 free-throw attempts were taken.
In just the first eight minutes of action, 20 fouls were called, putting both teams into the bonus for the remainder of the contest. Allen shot a perfect 12/12 from the free-throw line in the second half as Alabama’s offense sputtered without Philon.
The officiating crew drew Oats’ ire in the second half, which resulted in his first technical foul of the season. Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner knocked down the free throws following Oats’ technical, which grew the Commodores’ lead to 9 points at the under-eight media timeout.
As the final stretch came and went, fouls remained a constant. Eight Alabama players dealt with foul trouble, including centers Keitenn Bristow and Noah Williamson, which dealt a tough blow to Alabama as starting center Aiden Sherrell was out with a knee injury.
The Crimson Tide cut the Commodore lead to 4 points with 36 seconds left, but was unable to cut the deficit any further. Two further free throws from Tanner — who had a career-high 29 points on 8/15 shooting — capped off a tough night for the Crimson Tide.
Oats said that Tanner got by Alabama’s guards “every time he wanted.”
Alabama returns to the hardwood on Saturday, hosting the Texas Longhorns at Coleman Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT, and the game can be streamed on ESPN.
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