No. 15 Alabama men’s basketball toppled the No. 5 St. John’s Red Storm 103-96 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
“I just thank coach [Rick] Pitino for giving us this opportunity,” head coach Nate Oats said after the win. “I mean, this is the Mecca of basketball.”
The Crimson Tide’s guards starred in the scoring effort, with three scoring double figures. Star guard Labaron Philon Jr. continued his strong start with a career-high 25 points, which led the Crimson Tide in scoring.
Oats praised Philon’s leadership on the court in the win.
“He settled us down, made some big shots, talked,” Oats said. “He was pretty good.”
Guards Aden Holloway and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. followed Philon in the scoring column in their returns from injuries. Holloway notched 21 points and Wrightsell racked up 17.
Oats said his team “would never have won this game” if Holloway and Wrightsell were unavailable.
A fast-paced first half — in which the two teams combined for 77 total possessions — saw Alabama enter the break with a 9-point advantage, thanks to Holloway drilling a triple just before the buzzer sounded. Its 53-point first half was the most a St. John’s team had allowed in a half under Pitino.
The scoring continued in the early goings of the second half, with the Crimson Tide’s advantage cut to 4 points as the two teams went back and forth. It opened the lead up to 8 points at the under-12 media timeout.
Forward Taylor Bol Bowen stepped up with several players in foul trouble and notched 10 crucial second-half points.
“If Taylor doesn’t bring it like he brought it, we have no chance to win this game, especially with the rest of the guys in foul trouble in the frontcourt,” Oats said.
The Red Storm took its first lead of the second half at the 8:13 mark, and hung around until the
Crimson Tide pulled away late. It notched a 9-0 run with 1:44 remaining to put the game out of reach, with Philon accounting for 7 points in the run.
The Crimson Tide nailed three free throws to put a final exclamation point on the victory. Red Storm guard Oziyah Sellers sank a driving layup with two seconds to go, and Alabama dribbled out the clock to seal the triumph.
No. 15 Alabama returns to action on Thursday, hosting No. 1 Purdue at Coleman Coliseum. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. CT and can be streamed on ESPN2.
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