The 2-seed Alabama Crimson Tide used a late run and 20 points from Herbert Jones to pull past the 15-seed Iona Gaels in the round of 64, 68-55.
The Gaels hung tough with the Crimson Tide for much of the game. However, a late 11-0 run broke the game open for the Crimson Tide.
The Gael’s Early Push
A 9-1 run only minutes in the game knocked the Crimson Tide off kilter. It gave the Gaels a brief lead, and let their opponents know the game wasn’t going to be an easy one.
The Crimson Tide responded right away with 9 straight points. Jahvon Quinerly came off the bench to score or assist on 5 of those points.
A 9-0 run from the gaels soon after helped keep them in the game. With 1:38 remaining, 7 straight from the Crimson Tide had pushed their lead to eight.
The Gaels had an answer yet again. They ended the half on a 7-0 run, taking only a 1 point deficit into the locker room.
Early 2-Seed Woes
The Crimson Tide struggled mightily in the first half. Whenever it seemed as though they were about to blow the doors off, the Gaels found a way back into the game.
They had missed an astounding 8 layups at halftime and had gone 2-10 from three in the first half. Jones’ 12 points on 5-9 shooting was the team’s only bright spot.
Second Half Dogfight
The first 10 minutes of the second half were as close a game as one could imagine. The Gaels continued to stay scrappy and answered every bucket that the Crimson Tide gave them.
The score stayed within three for more than 10 minutes of game time. Senior guard Asante Gist came up with 7 big points in the second half to help keep the Gaels in it.
Senior guard Isaiah Ross was the only other Gael to finish in double figures, alongside Gist’s 16. Ross finished with 19, doing a lot of his damage in the first half.
“I want to give Iona a ton of credit, I thought their kids came ready to play, they got some good players, obviously Coach Pitino had them well prepared,” Crimson Tide Head Coach Nate Oats said.
Crimson Tide Explode to the Finish
The Crimson Tide got a huge boost from its bench as the team made its final push. With just under 10 minutes remaining, Quinerly got himself a bucket. The next time down the floor, he got another one. Then Alex Reese joined him off the bench to hit his second and final three of the game.
Their boost began a tear or 11 straight points for the Crimson Tide. The run gave the team life, as well as a 12 point lead. Bench players scored 9 of those 11 points.
The Crimson Tide also clamped down defensively. They held the Gaels to just 4 made field goals in the final 10 minutes of the game. They also held Nelly Junio Joseph to just 6 points all game and only 2 in the second half.
“We just tried to limit his touches in the second half, I think he was a lot more comfortable in the first half, I don’t think we pressured the ball as well as we should have,” Jones said. “I think in the second half that’s what we did, and he wasn’t able to score at will in the second half.”
Up Next
The Crimson Tide move on to the round of 32, and will face the winner of UConn and Maryland on Monday.
“Hopefully getting that first game out of the way, getting that win even though we didn’t play well, will help,” Oats said. “I thought our defense was pretty good, especially there in the second half, so if you look at the effort stuff, you know on the glass we beat them by 16, it was 42-26, so for a lot of the effort stuff we did great at, we just got to settle down and play a better offensive game.”
