Alabama’s exhibition work rolled on Thursday night in Birmingham, and so did the warning signs.
The Crimson Tide beat Ole Miss 92-84 at Boutwell Auditorium to move to 2-0 in warmup games, but the margin never really felt secure because the turnovers kept handing the Rebels life. Alabama led by big numbers more than once, only to watch Ole Miss claw back every time.
That kind of sloppiness has some explanation. The Tide were again without Aden Holloway, Anderson Diaz, Jaxon Richardson, and Preston Murphy Jr.
Holloway and Diaz are expected to be the two main ball handlers this season, so their absence showed up in the form of a shaky backcourt and too many empty trips. Nate Oats opened with Amari Allen, Tarris Bouie, Cole Cloer, Brandon Garrison, and Jamarion Davis-Fleming.
Alabama got off to a rough start, hitting just 1 of its first 7 threes in the opening six minutes and falling behind 11-8 with 14:25 left in the first half. But the Tide settled in.
Allen finished in the lane, Cloer knocked down two free throws, and Qayden Samuel buried a three to put Alabama ahead 15-12 with 12 minutes left. Ole Miss briefly reclaimed the lead at 18-17, but it would be its last of the night.
Drew Fielder answered with a three to square things at 20-20, and then Alabama started stretching it out.
London Jemison, Allen, and Cloer all connected from deep as the Tide pushed in front 29-24. Cloer added two more at the line, Bouie picked off a pass and raced the length of the floor for a dunk, and Alabama had built a 40-29 cushion with 4:13 left in the half.
Ole Miss wasn’t done, though. The Rebels ripped off a 10-0 run to get within one before the break, and Alabama had to score right before the buzzer to go to halftime up 42-39.
At the half, Alabama was shooting 15-for-33 overall and 6-for-19 from three, while also piling up 12 turnovers. Cloer had 10 points and four assists.
Samuel added seven points and three rebounds, and Allen had seven points, three rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Fielder led the Tide with five rebounds.
Ole Miss shot 50% in the first half but couldn’t buy a three, going 0-for-9 from deep. The Rebels did turn Alabama over five times, and Adams Clark and Roman Siulepa each had eight points.
The second half started with Allen and Cloer carrying the scoring load again. Alabama nudged the margin to 56-46 with 15:10 to play, then pushed it to 18 before Ole Miss finally hit its first three-pointer of the game with 10:35 left, trimming the score to 65-50.
Even then, the Rebels kept hanging around. Alabama still led 70-59 with eight minutes left, but Ole Miss kept making the Tide answer.
Cloer’s big three with 6:15 remaining gave Alabama a 76-68 edge after the Rebels had cut the lead to five. But more turnovers opened the door again, and Ole Miss got as close as 83-77 with 3:25 left.
Things got tighter still when Allen was fouled on a drive and Oats drew a technical while working the sideline all night. Ole Miss hit both technical free throws, then trimmed it to 85-81 after Allen split a pair at the line with 3:01 to go.
The Rebels still had chances to tie or get ahead on back-to-back possessions, but couldn’t convert either one. Allen and Jemison each went 2-for-2 at the line to finish it off and close out the 92-84 win.
Allen led Alabama with 19 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Cloer added 18 points, hitting 4 of 8 from beyond the arc, along with two rebounds, four assists, and a steal.
Jemison scored 13 and grabbed three boards. Samuel finished with 12 points, five rebounds, and one assist, though he also had five turnovers.
Davis-Fleming turned in an efficient night with 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting, plus four rebounds and an assist. Fielder came off the bench for 10 points and 10 rebounds and earned his first hard hat award.
As a team, Alabama shot 31-for-62 overall, 11-for-32 from three, and 19-for-25 at the line. The Tide finished with 45 rebounds, 19 assists, two blocks, four steals, and 20 turnovers.
Ole Miss shot 31-for-67, went 4-for-20 from three, and made 18 of 24 free throws. Corey Stephenson led all scorers with 25 points on 8-for-12 shooting.
Clark added 15 points, seven assists, and five rebounds. Siuepa scored 12, and Patton Pinkins had 11.
Bama closes its exhibition schedule next Thursday against Auburn in Legacy Arena in Birmingham. The Tide will be hoping for a cleaner night by then - and for Holloway, Diaz, and the rest of the missing pieces to start filtering back in.
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