Labaron Philon Jr. led five Crimson Tide players in double-figure scoring with 29 points
TAMPA – Labaron Philon Jr. scored a game-high 29 points, 21 of which came after halftime, to lead the No. 4 seed Alabama Crimson Tide past the 13th-seeded Hofstra Pride, 90-70, Friday afternoon at Benchmark International Arena.
The Crimson Tide trailed by as many as 10 points midway through the first half before going on a 15-4 run to take a 37-35 lead into the locker room. It marks the sixth time this season UA came back from a double-digit deficit to win the game.
Philon led five Crimson Tide (24-9) players who reached double figures in the contest. Aiden Sherrell collected his third double-double of the year with 15 points and 15 rebounds, while Taylor Bol Bowen also added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 from deep. Amari Allan (11) and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (11) also reached double figures.
Hofstra (24-11) was led by Preston Edmead’s 24 points while Cruz Davis added 14 in the losing effort.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
“I give Hofstra a ton of credit. They are a very good team that came ready to play. I thought we did a good job starting the game off well, and then (Hofstra head coach) Speedy (Claxton) called a timeout and they regrouped and ended up going on an 18-2 run. In the first half, we didn’t do a great job, but we did a good job of closing the half. Somehow, we ended up by two even though the guys didn’t play their best in the first half.
“I thought our start to the second half was great. They called a timeout just like the first half, and I told the team that they did this in the first half and came out and went on a run, we have to continue to get stops. Hofstra has a lot of talented players, and we couldn’t let them get going. We came out offensively, and I thought we did pretty well, better than in the first half.
“Defensively, we let (Preston) Edmead get going way too much, but I thought we did a good job on (Cruz) Davis. We did a great job on the glass, too. Aiden Sherrell had 15 and 15, which is not easy to do. Taylor’s energy was great. He got three blocks off the bench and went 3-of-5 from three for one of his best shooting nights in a long time. When you get worried about losing yourself in the game and playing hard, the other stuff takes care of itself. Labaron played like he didn’t want to go home and was pushing for a triple-double.
“A lot of good things from a lot of our guys, and it’s March. You either win or go home, and we really figured out how to win here in the second half and face a tough team in Texas Tech on Sunday.”
Team Stats
- With his 29 points on the night, Labaron Philon Jr. has now scored 681 on the season to surpass James “Hollywood” Robinson (661 points) for the program’s sophomore single season scoring record
- Philon nearly had a triple-double as he added seven assists and eight rebounds, both of which mark the second-highest numbers in game this year
- Sherrell set career-high marks for rebounds (15) and offensive rebounds (9) en route to his third double-double of the year
- Thanks in large part to Sherrell’s efforts, the Tide owned a big 46-34 edge on the glass, including a 17-13 on the offensive boards
- UA also outscored Hofstra in fast break points (19-9) and points in the paint (38-22)
- Alabama’s 17 offensive rebounds are fourth most this season and most since 19 vs Auburn on Senior Night
- It is the second time in the last three games having 17 or more offensive rebounds
- The Tide’s 46 rebounds are tied for fourth-most in the program’s tournament history
- The 20-point win stands as the Tide’s fourth-largest margin of victory
First Half
- Two early Hofstra turnovers led to early points for the Tide, allowing UA to jump out to an 8-2 lead with 17:04 remaining in the first half
- An 11-3 run by the Pride over a span of three minutes led to Hofstra taking a 20-16 lead with 11:06 left until halftime
- Hofstra would extend the lead to its largest of the game at 28-18 with 9:20 until the break
- Alabama worked its way back on the defensive end of the floor, holding the Pride to just one field goal over its next eight shots which helped trim the lead to 30-25 at the 3:15 mark
- Over the final 6:20 of the stanza, the Crimson Tide went on a 16-5 run to take a 37-35 lead into intermission
- Aiden Sherrell led the Tide at the break with 12 points and eight rebounds, including six on the offensive glass
- UA forced seven Pride turnovers and held Hofstra to just eight points in the paint in the first period
Second Half
- Alabama came out hot on both ends of the floor to start the second half
- UA began by scoring the first seven points of the half which led to a 12-4 run over the first 3:40, extending its lead to double-digits, 49-39, with 16:21 remaining in the game
- Amari Allen and Labaron Philon combined for 20 of Alabama’s first 22 points in the second half, going a combined 7-of-8 from the field, helping the Tide to maintain its lead, 59-49 at the 11:51 mark
- Hofstra was able to trim the lead down to five points, 69-64, with 5:55 left in the game
- The Tide would respond with six straight points to bring the lead back to double digits, 77-66, with 3:34 remaining
- UA left nothing to doubt as it went on a 19-4 run over the game’s final 4:40 to take the 20-point victory
- Philon scored 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting in the second half, while Amari Allen scored all 11 of his points
- After shooting just 39 percent (14-of-36) from the field and 26 percent (5-of-19) from three in the first half, Alabama shot 58 percent (18-of-31) from the floor and 41 percent (7-of-17) from deep over the game’s final 20 minutes
Up Next
- With the win, Alabama advances to the Round of 32 where the Tide will square off with No. 5 seed Texas Tech on Sunday
- Date, time and television information will be revealed later Friday night
