No. 16 Alabama men’s basketball handled the Kennesaw State Owls 92-81 in Huntsville on Sunday in the Rocket City Classic.
The win was head coach Nate Oats’ 250th career win and his 154th at Alabama. The team held a double-digit lead for over 31 minutes in the contest and led by 21 points at the final media timeout, but it allowed a 16-6 run from Kennesaw State to end the game.
“We’ve got some really talented basketball players,” Oats said. “We don’t have a collective group of leaders that are gonna make sure that we stay locked in and engaged and intense like we need to, in particular on the defensive end of the floor.”
Alabama was led in scoring by center Aiden Sherrell, who notched a career-high 21 points on 8/10 shooting. He also added seven rebounds, two blocks and an assist. Star guards Labaron Philon Jr. and Aden Holloway followed Sherrell in the scoring effort, each scoring 17 points.
Oats said that Sherrell has been “playing with a lot more pop” on offense of late.
Alabama started the afternoon slowly on offense, shooting just 4/15 to open the game. It quickly found its stroke, though, knocking down 11 of its next 15 shots, which opened up a 22-point lead with 5:18 left in the opening period.
The Crimson Tide led at the break 54-28 over the Owls, following a 15-9 run to close out the half. Its defense starred in the opening period, having held Kennesaw State to its lowest tally in a first half this season.
The second half saw a much different performance from the team on defense.
Alabama gave up 53 points and allowed Kennesaw State to shoot an impressive 57.1% from the field in the second half. The Crimson Tide was also outrebounded 23-17 and gave up seven offensive rebounds.
“I’m a little disappointed in our effort in playing with the lead,” Oats said.
He added that the team had some defensive success, but it has not yet been able to maintain it for 40 minutes.
The game saw Owls head coach Antoine Pettway face off with his alma mater and former employer. Pettway served as an assistant at Alabama on several occasions, most recently from 2013 to 2023.
Pettway was also a starter on Alabama’s 2003-04 team, which advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time in school history.
“He works very hard. He’s one of those guys who [has] no real office hours,” Oats said of Pettway. “If it’s gotta get done, it gets done. He’s got a sense of humility about him. He’s doing really well at Kennesaw.”
Alabama will return to the court on Dec. 29, hosting the Yale Bulldogs at Coleman Coliseum in the team’s final non-conference contest. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT, and the game can be streamed on SEC Network+.
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