Alabama guard Avery Johnson Jr. scored a season-high 14 points off the bench, and forward Donta Hall had a double-double as the Crimson Tide snapped a two-game losing streak with a 70-60 victory over host Missouri on Wednesday night in Columbia, Mo.
Johnson, a senior and the son of the Alabama head coach, was averaging only 1.4 points and 10.2 minutes per game, but he had the hot hand, making 5 of 10 shots in 18 minutes.
He was 2 of 5 from 3-point range after missing all 11 of his tries from beyond the arc this season. He had scored just 21 points overall in his first 15 games.
Hall had 12 points and 11 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season.
Alabama (11-5, 2-2 SEC) used its depth, with 10 players seeing double-digit minutes and each scoring at least three points. The bench scored 33 points.
Missouri (9-6, 0-3) lost its third consecutive game, all in conference play. Guard Mark Smith had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Tigers. Freshman Javon Pickett, coming off a career-high 21-point effort on Sunday at South Carolina, shared the team scoring lead with 13.
Alabama scored the first seven points of the second half to extend its lead to 39-26 before Missouri answered with a 9-0 run, fueled by Smith's four-point play. The Tigers could not get closer than five points, though, and Alabama's 17-year-old freshman guard Kira Lewis Jr. hit a big 3-pointer for a 64-55 lead with 2:24 to go.
The Crimson Tide used an 11-0 run spanning almost six minutes to take a 26-16 lead with 5:53 to go in the first half. Missouri, entering the game as the best 3-point shooting team in the SEC at 39.4 percent, stayed close because of its 3-point shooting, making 6 of 13 attempts before trailing 32-26 at the break.
The Tigers made only 1 of 7 from beyond the arc in the second half.
Alabama junior big man Daniel Giddens did not make the trip due to a reported family matter. He has played 42 minutes in six games this season.
--Field Level Media
Alabama | Missouri | |
Avery Johnson Jr. 14 | Scoring | Javon Pickett 13 |
Dazon Ingram 3 | Assists | Jordan Geist 3 |
Donta Hall 11 | Rebounds | Mark Smith 8 |
Dazon Ingram 4 | Free Throws Made | Jeremiah Tilmon 2 |
Donta Hall 1 | Steals | Javon Pickett 1 |
Donta Hall 2 | Blocks | N/A |