Alabama Crimson Tide vs Georgia Bulldogs Match Player Stats On Mar 06, 2021

Alabama's strong second half after trailing by as many as 14 points in the first was the difference in the eighth-ranked Crimson Tide's 89-79 comeback win over Georgia on Saturday in Athens, Ga.

Jahvon Quinerly scored all 18 of his points in the second half, and four other Alabama players scored in double figures, including 15 points and seven rebounds from John Petty Jr. The Crimson Tide made 63.3 percent of their second-half shots, including 8 of 10 3-pointers after going cold from long range in the first half.

Alabama (21-6, 16-2 in SEC) tied a school record for conference wins in the regular-season finale for both teams. The Crimson Tide have won six of their last seven games heading into next week's conference tournament in Nashville.

Alabama, with coach Nate Oats wearing a gaudy sport coat in tribute to legendary former head coach Wimp Sanderson, had already clinched the SEC regular season title. They won despite committing 22 turnovers.

Sahvir Wheeler led Georgia (14-11, 7-11) with 18 points and 10 assists. K.D. Johnson added 16 points.

The first half saw the Bulldogs start hot. Toumani Camara was credited with a basket on a jumper that was ruled goaltending on Alabama with 8:03 left, capping a 9-0 run.

The Bulldogs had a 12-point lead with 3:03 left in the first half, but Alabama finished the half on a 6-0 run, with Petty's layup with 54 seconds the final two points.

Petty had nine of the Crimson Tide's 30 points at the half, and Alabama trailed by only six despite shooting 36.8 percent from the field and only making 2 of 12 from 3-point range.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Quinerly and Jaden Shackelford gave Alabama a 53-44 lead, and the Crimson Tide made 11 of their first 13 shots of the second half.

But Georgia fought back to make it 57-54 on Johnson's 3 with 11:48 to play.

The Bulldogs, who lost to Alabama by 33 points earlier this season and have lost five of their last seven games, came close to an upset. They trimmed a 10-point deficit to three, 82-79, with 1:13 to play but Alabama scored the last seven points of the game.

--Field Level Media