No Labaron Philon Jr. No problem. No. 14 Alabama beat up on Yale men’s basketball, 102-78, Monday night at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa.
The National Player of the Year candidate was a last-minute scratch due to an injury, but Auburn transfer Aden Holloway more than picked-up the slack, leading his team with 26 points on 9-for-16 shooting. Holloway was on the Auburn team which Yale dispatched, 78-76, in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Holloway had no points in that game.
Alabama (10-3) started hot, going 3-for-3 from long distance to grab a 9-3 lead. It widened to 38-21 off of a 7-0 run. Alabama led 55-31 at the half, outrebounding the Bulldogs, 28-14.
Yale (11-2), a top-five national free throw shooting team was an uncharacteristic 3-for-7 from the stripe and only 3-for-10 in layups in the first stanza.
Alabama averages 13 three-pointers per outing and had 12 in the half en route to 22 on the night.
“We looked like we hadn’t played a game in 18 days. I thought our rhythm was a little bit off,” Yale coach James Jones said. “The size of Alabama had something to do with it.”
Yale outrebounded the Crimson Tide 24-18 in the second half.
The Bulldogs were led in scoring once again by senior forward Nick Townsend with 18 points, and sophomore forward Isaac Celiscar chipped in with 17. Senior guard Casey Simmons led Yale with eight rebounds.
Alabama was the only power-conference team which Yale was able to schedule, a matchup based on a relationship between Jones and Alabama coach Nate Oats.
Yale concluded its out-of-conference play and opens the Ivy season on Mon., Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. at Brown.