STATESBORO, Ga. - The University of Alabama made its first trip to Statesboro since 2010 and picked up an 84-36 non-conference victory over Georgia Southern University on Sunday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Crimson Tide remained unbeaten on the season, moving to 4-0 on the year, while Georgia Southern fell to 1-3 on the season with the loss. The Eagles will return to action on Tuesday, traveling to South Carolina State for a 5:30 p.m. non-conference matchup with the Bulldogs in Orangeburg, S.C.
The Crimson Tide opened up the first quarter on an 8-0 run, then closed the first quarter on another 8-0 run to take a 24-10 lead after the period. Alabama extended that lead to 17 points, 29-12, on a steal and layup by Meoshonti Knight. The Eagles kept pace for the next four minutes, as a three-pointer by Hailey Dias Allen cut the lead to 31-17 with 4:35 left, but the Crimson Tide went on a 14-4 run to close out the half and build a 45-21 lead at the break.
Georgia Southern hit five of its opening 10 shots from the floor in the third quarter, but Alabama also shot 50 percent from the floor during the same stretch, then used a 7-0 run at the end of the period to lead 67-32. In the fourth, the Eagles struggled from the floor, making just 2-of-17 shots as Alabama capped off the win.
"There were two big things in the first half, when they pulled away, that we talked about at halftime," Head Coach Kip Drown said. "Turnovers and second chance points. Size is one thing, I understand that, but you still have to go and put a body on someone and we didn't do that, we let them be a lot more physical than we were and we paid the price for it."
The Crimson Tide outrebounded the Eagles by a 58-33 margin, including giving up 19 offensive rebounds that resulted in a 29-7 edge in second chance points. Alabama also had a 22-6 edge in points off of turnovers.Â
Georgia Southern shot 24.2 percent from the floor (16-of-66) and did not make a free throw on the day, going 0-for-4 from the line. Alabama shot 46.5 percent from the floor (33-of-71) and hit 13-of-16 shots from the foul line (81.3 percent). Nakol Franks led the Eagles offensively with nine points on 3-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc, while Sierra Butler grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Alabama had a very balanced scoring effort on the day, with seven different players scoring eight or more points. Knight led the way with 14 points for the Crimson Tide.
"They came in and they're a very good basketball team," Coach Drown said. "There's a toughness level and a physical level you have to go with, and we did not match what they did. I'm very disappointed in our effort. Coming off of the Mercer game, even though though we had a couple of quarters where we didn't play well, in the second quarter we competed and played well. We just didn't really see that tonight."
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In order to expedite entry and provide a safe environment for all patrons and participants, Georgia Southern Athletics has implemented a Clear Bag Policy for all ticketed sporting events, effective Aug. 1, 2017. Fans can find the complete policy as well as an FAQ section at GSEagles.com/ClearBag.
