Going on the road to face LSU on Saturday felt like the classic trap game for Nate Oats and Alabama basketball after Wednesday night's thrilling double overtime win over Arkansas. The Crimson Tide had to overcome a bit of a sleepy start against the Tigers, but did so effectively to earn a 90-83 win over LSU.
With Labaron Philon far from his usual self and Aiden Sherrell fouling out with just under six minutes to play, the Crimson Tide had to dig down the stretch to finish the job.
After a massive workload against the Razorbacks, Philon was listed on Alabama's injury report on Friday night as "probable." He only scored eight points and went 2-of-8 from the field. It was the first time this season that Philon failed to score in double figures.
Alabama ran most of its offense through Aden Holloway, who only played 25 minutes on Wednesday. The junior guard struggled to find the range from three (1-of-6), but led the Tide with 17 points.
Freshman Amari Allen scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds after leading the Crimson Tide in minutes against Arkansas with 45.
As usual, senior Houston Mallette was the glue-guy, coming up with two key offensive rebounds with 90 seconds to go and Alabama leading by just eight points. After the second one, London Jemison had a put-back dunk off an Allen miss that was effectively the dagger.
Aiden Sherrell's dominant start to the second-half helped Alabama separate from LSU
It was fair to wonder what Alabama would get from sophomore big man Aiden Sherrell on Saturday night after a career-high 39 minutes against Arkansas on Wednesday. But the big man showed up and showed out, particularly in the first six minutes of the second half.
Alabama led just 43-40 at the half, but quickly pushed out to a double-digit lead thanks to a dominant effort from Sherrell.
He scored seven points, grabbed five rebounds, dished two assists, and blocked three shots in one of the best stretches of the season for an Alabama player. He unfortunately fouled out in the second half, but still finished with his second consecutive double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
With Charles Bediako done at Alabama, Oats has to ask a lot more out of Sherrell. The sophomore keeps delivering.
This was Alabama's sixth consecutive win after the embarrassing blowout road loss to Florida. When things looked like they might be heading south, the Crimson Tide answered the call and picked themselves up off the mat.