Alabama secured its fourth consecutive win by defeating South Carolina 89-75 in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night. Aden Holloway led Alabama with 20 points, while Labaron Philon Jr. and reserve Latrell Wrightsell Jr. each contributed 19 points.
Holloway was efficient from the field, shooting 6-of-9 overall and making four of his five attempts from three-point range. Philon also found success beyond the arc, hitting four of seven threes as part of a 5-of-8 shooting performance. Wrightsell added three three-pointers on six-of-eleven shooting.
Aiden Sherrell scored 11 points for Alabama, and Amari Allen collected ten rebounds along with eight points. The Crimson Tide improved to an overall record of 18-7 and are now 8-4 in SEC play.
For South Carolina, Meechie Johnson scored a game-high 26 points—24 coming after halftime—and Kobe Knox matched his career high with 21 points. Mike Sharavjamts finished with 14 points and led the team with eight rebounds.
The first half saw Alabama take control after Holloway’s three-pointer broke a tie at 23-all with just under ten minutes remaining before halftime. Jalil Bethea followed up with a fastbreak dunk, giving Alabama a lead it would not relinquish for the rest of the game.
Consecutive threes by Holloway and Philon helped Alabama build its first double-digit advantage late in the first half, leading to a halftime score of 45-32 in favor of the Crimson Tide.
South Carolina mounted a rally in the second half behind Johnson’s scoring run, cutting Alabama’s lead to seven after his three-pointer capped an individual run midway through the period. However, Wrightsell made two free throws late in regulation to help maintain Alabama’s double-digit cushion until the final buzzer.
Alabama continued its strong perimeter shooting as one of the nation’s top teams from beyond the arc, finishing at over forty-one percent (14-of-34) for their sixth straight game with at least twelve made threes.
Meechie Johnson recorded his eighth game this season scoring twenty or more points—his sixth such performance during SEC play—and has now reached double figures in eleven consecutive games. He leads South Carolina this season with nineteen games scoring ten or more points.
Kobe Knox matched his previous career high set during last year’s WAC Conference Tournament while playing for Grand Canyon University and also tallied six assists—a season best—and six rebounds against Alabama.
South Carolina drops to an overall record of 11-14 (2-10 SEC). The team will remain on the road for its next matchup against No. 14 Florida on Tuesday evening; coverage will be provided by John Schriffen and Mark Wise on SEC Network at 7 p.m. Eastern Time.
