Charles Hankerson Jr. stars as Alabama Crimson Tide rout Alabama A&M Bulldogs 82-45: NCAA Basketball
Alabama Crimson Tide didn’t just live up to their reputation of being one of the best defensive college teams in the United States, when they came face-to-face against Alabama A&M Bulldogs on Wednesday night, they also showed that
they are a power on the offense.
In a totally one sided game, the shorthanded Crimson Tide thrashed the Bulldogs 82-45.
"That was a great defensive team. They were aggressive defensively," Alabama A&M coach Willie Hayes said. "Alabama is very talented. I see a bright future for them. I see them going a long way."
Guard Charles Hankerson Jr. led Alabama’s attack. He scored a game-high 16 points, clutched nine rebounds, made five steals and provided two assists.
"It was awesome seeing the whole team do well, seeing everybody succeed," Hankerson said. "We worked so hard and we put everything into this. It was good just seeing everybody doing their thing out there. We just wanted to step
up whenever our number was called. I felt the freshmen played real hard."
Apart from Hankerson, Crimson Tide’s offense also had the assistance of freshman Rodney Cooper and Nick Jacobs, who tallied 15 points each. Jacobs went on notch up a double-double with 10 boards.
Crimson Tide tipped off aggressively with Cooper smashing a three-pointer to ignite a 10-0 blitz. It was just the start though and as minutes ticked by, Crimson Tide gained strength and took their lead to 24-4. In the period that
followed, the lead kept on increasing and shot to 48-18 with seven second to go in the break. By the time, the first 20 minutes ended, Crimson Tide were leading the Bulldogs 48-20.
Cooper hit 11 of his 15 points during this period for the Crimson Tide.
The game was virtually sealed in the first half, but Crimson Tide kept their foot on the paddle. They hit the Bulldogs with one spurt after another and went on winning the game by 37 points.
The Bulldogs were miserable from the floor - 1 of 12 from the three-point region and 11 of 46 overall. In addition to that the Crimson Tide also out-rebounded A&M Bulldogs 31-15. Demarquelle Tabb was top scorer for the Bulldogs
with 11 points and seven rebounds while Casey Canty finished with 10 points.
Tags: