Green avoids fouls, leads Bama past Samford

TUSCALOOSA | JaMychal Green picked up his first foul less than two minutes into the University of Alabama’s 60-45 win over Samford on Wednesday night, but this time the Crimson Tide’s post man wasn’t interested in an early seat on the bench.

It turned out to be his only foul of the night, and the sophomore finished with 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting — and perhaps more importantly, as many minutes (26) as first-year coach Anthony Grant wanted him on the floor.

“He’s learning — he’s a sophomore this year — what he can and can’t do from game to game,” Grant said. “I thought he did a very good job of being able to keep himself on the floor and maintain his aggressiveness on both ends of the floor. That was good to see.”

The Montgomery native collected a game-high three blocks and pulled down four rebounds. With 3:09 remaining in the first half, he delivered a touch pass from the post to assist on a Mikhail Torrance basket for a 27-16 lead.

“I think my teammates did a great job of finding me. JaMychal fed me a great pass from the post,” said Torrance, who led all scorers with 15.

Green leads Alabama in personal fouls with 31 on the season, fouling out in a loss to Florida State and finishing three other games with four fouls. He was foul-plagued as a freshman in 2008, but has shown signs this season of staying out of foul trouble. He picked up an early foul against Purdue on Saturday, but finished with only three and played 28 minutes. Green said staying out of foul trouble allows him to play more aggressively, and as one of the Crimson Tide’s only true big men, it makes a big difference for the team as well.

“I know for our team it’s extremely helpful to have him on the floor. We’re a much better team when he’s on the floor than when he’s in foul trouble and has to sit next to our coaching staff,” Grant said.

It was a clean night for the entire UA defense as Samford shot just one free throw the entire game, and that didn’t come until late in the second half.

“We did a great job of using our hands effectively without fouling,” Torrance said. “Coach emphasizes that every day in practice, just using your hands to try to get deflections and just continue to pressure.”

Sluggish offenses from both teams held scoring down early as the first five minutes produced only a 4-4 tie. With a slow offensive style, it was exactly the pace the Bulldogs sought until Alabama’s defense began forcing turnovers and scoring in transition. Between a pair of 3-pointers by Torrance and a couple of easy Alabama baskets resulting from turnovers, UA (7-3) built a 21-14 lead and took a 35-24 advantage into the break.

“I thought the key to the game for us tonight was to come in with defensive focus and understand what we had to take away from Samford,” Grant said. “The system they run is a very difficult system to prepare for. I thought our guys did a very good job throughout the game. We had a breakdown here or there, but I thought for 40 minutes the level of focus, the intensity, the ability to keep the game at our pace and our style, I thought our guys did a great job with that.”

Alabama outrebounded the Bulldogs 19-9 in the second half. Guard Senario Hillman collected five of his six rebounds in the second half as the lead grew to as much as 20 points.

The Bulldogs (3-7) were led by Josh Davis with 13 points.

The Crimson Tide faces Kansas State in Mobile at the Coors Classic on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Reach Chase Goodbread at chase.goodbread@tuscaloosanews.com, or at 205-722-0196.