Freshman guard John Petty set a new school record  by knocking down 10 three-pointers to lead the No. 25 Alabama men’s basketball team past Alabama A&M, 104-67 Friday night in Coleman Coliseum.
 
Petty’s 10 three-pointers tied for fourth all-time in Southeastern Conference history.  The last SEC player to have 10 or more three-pointers in a game, was Michael Frazier of Florida who made 11 against South Carolina on Mar. 4, 2014. Former Arkansas guard Rotnei Clarke has the conference record of 13.
 
The Crimson Tide (3-0) was steered by its five freshman as they combined for 78 points, led by Petty who finished with 30. The Huntsville, Ala., native was the first Alabama player to go for 30 since Retin Obasohan went for 35 points at LSU on Feb. 17, 2016.
 
Fellow freshman Collin Sexton 25 points and five assists, while fellow classmates Alex Reese (9), Herbert Jones (7), and Galin Smith (7) added to the total.
 
The game marked the first time Alabama passed the 100-point clip in a game since defeating Louisiana, 105-93, on Nov. 21, 2015.  The Tide ended the night with 25 assists compared to 15 turnovers, while also owning a big 47-23 advantage on the boards.
 
The Tide shot a stellar 63 percent (40-of-63) from the field, including 59 percent (16-of-27) from beyond the arc in the win.
 
“I am very proud of our effort and what a night for Huntsville’s finest, John Petty, to have the type of game he had,” Alabama head coach Avery Johnson said. “I know a lot of his family and friends were here in attendance tonight or watching online. We’re not quite there yet on defense. We had a very sub-par second half defensively and that’s to be expected. Sometimes your mind plays tricks on you and trying to motivate yourself to come out and play quality defense in the second half. We just didn’t get that done.”
 
The Tide started off the game fast, building a 10-0 lead before the first media timeout.  Alabama continued to pour on the points in the first half, building a 19-point advantage with four minutes remaining in the opening period. 
 
At the end of the first half, the Tide led 51-22, capped by Sexton draining a half-court heave as the buzzer sounded, giving him 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. Petty made 5-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc in the half, totaling 15 points in the opening period.
 
In the second half the Alabama offense did not let up, continuing the scoring attack by building its lead to as much as 39 points.  At the 6:58 mark, Petty hit his school record ninth three-pointer, before hitting his 10th of the night 30 seconds later with 6:28 left in the game.
 
Sophomore Dazon Ingram added 10 points, six rebounds and four assists, while junior Donta Hall collected eight points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks.
 
The Crimson Tide will return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 21 when it hosts UT Arlington at 8 p.m. CT in Coleman Coliseum.  The game will be televised on SEC Network.

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