Men’s Basketball Cruises Past Stetson, 83-60, in Non-Conference Finale

Freshman guard Dazon Ingram recorded his first career double-double to lead the Alabama men’s basketball team to a dominant 83-60 victory over Stetson Thursday night in Coleman Coliseum.

Ingram matched his career high with 16 points and set a career-best mark with 10 rebounds as he collected the first double-double by a Tide player this season.

Junior Riley Norris finished with a season-high 18 points, while senior Bola Olaniyan led the Tide with a season-best 13 rebounds – eight of those coming on the offensive glass. Sophomore guard Avery Johnson, Jr., who collected a game-high six assists, and freshman Braxton Key each recorded 10 points to give Alabama (7-5) four players in double figures.

“[I am] really proud of our guys tonight against a really good, well-coached Stetson team,” head coach Avery Johnson said. “We did a good job of protecting our home court by rebounding and paying attention to detail. [We] still have to continue to defend our three-point line a little bit better. After somewhat of a sloppy first half, I like the way our guys turned it on in the second half. I’m proud of our guys; they’ve been practicing hard. The two guys that we have up here tonight [Dazon Ingram and Riley Norris] are major reasons why we won this game and why we performed so well, specifically in the second half.”

Trailing 10-9 early in the game, the Tide used a huge 20-5 run over a span of 8:39 in the first half to take control of the contest with a 29-15 lead. During the run, Alabama held Stetson (6-9) scoreless for just under five minutes. The Tide defense blocked four shots in the first half alone and held the Hatters to just 34 percent from the field.

Stetson used a 12-2 run of its own late in the opening stanza to close the gap to seven points at intermission, 36-29. The Tide outrebounded the Hatters 25-12 over the opening 20 minutes of play and owned an 18-8 edge on points in the paint.

Alabaman (7-5) broke the game open to start the second half with a 15-1 run in the opening five minutes. The Hatters never go any closer than 19 points the rest of the way. The Tide extended its lead to as much as 25 with an 83-58 lead inside the final minute. Stetson finished the game with a pair of free throws resulting in the final score.

The Tide recorded season-highs in points, assists (18) and rebounds (53). Alabama nearly doubled Stetson on the boards, owning a 53-27 rebounding advantage, including a 21-9 edge on the offensive glass. The Tide also had a big advantage over Stetson in points in the paint, outscoring the Hatters, 46-24. Alabama finished with seven blocks and nine steals.

The Tide will next open Southeastern Conference play on Jan. 3 in Starkville, Miss., against Mississippi State. The game against the Bulldogs is set to tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on SEC Network.