There is only one thing better for a basketball team than having a player score a career high in a game.
That’s having two players score a career high.
Tevin Mack had the best scoring night of his Alabama career so far with 25 points and freshman Kira Lewis matched his career-best scoring output with 24 as the Crimson Tide defeated Georgia 89-74 in Coleman Coliseum on Wednesday night.
The victory put Alabama back above the .500 mark in Southeastern Conference play at 5-4. UA is 14-8 overall.
Mack scored 10 points in a span of just over three minutes early in the second half as the Crimson Tide pushed a 41-38 halftime lead to 53-42 with 16:55 to play. Georgia went on one brief run that cut the lead to six points, 53-47, but Alabama responded, stretching its lead to as many as 16 points down the stretch.
Mack made five of his seven 3-point attempts and was 10 of 16 from the field en route to his 25-point performance. He had made just two of his 17 3-point attempts in the Crimson Tide’s previous five games.
“Coach (Avery Johnson) always tells me to stay aggressive,” Mack said. “He said stay aggressive, don’t worry and the shot will come.”
Lewis had seven assists to go with his 24 points. Dazon Ingram added 11 points for UA.
Johnson said the game was an “important chance for us to bounce back from our last game (a 21-point loss to Auburn.)”
“The way you handle disappointment or disaster is you don’t let it hijack your dreams,” Johnson said. “I was really pleased with the way we handled it.
”Tevin Mack was shooting the ball with a ton of confidence. We made better decisions with the ball. When we have things clicking, we can be a dangerous offensive team.”
With a low initial energy level and Donta Hall in early foul trouble that limited him to six minutes in the first half, the Crimson Tide fell behind by as many as eight points (15-7) in the early going.
Galin Smith then came off the bench to spark a 10-0 run, scoring six of the points on a layup and two dunks, the second of which gave Alabama a 17-15 lead with 12:39 remaining in the half. Smith suffered a concussion later in the half and did not return the game after halftime. His status going forward was not immediately known.
Derek Ogbeide led Georgia (10-12, 1-8 SEC) with 17 points.
Alabama will play again on Saturday, facing Vanderbilt in Nashville.
Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil@tidesports.com or 205-722-0225.
SCORING SUMMARY
Alabama 89, Georgia 74
Georgia (10-12)
Hammonds 5-9 2-3 13, Ogbeide 8-15 1-1 17, Claxton 4-12 4-6 12, Jackson 0-4 0-0 0, Harris 2-6 0-0 6, Wilridge 0-2 0-0 0, Edwards 1-1 0-2 2, Ngumezi 3-5 1-2 8, Crump 1-6 2-2 5, Harrison 0-0 0-0 0, Hightower 5-10 0-0 11, Fagan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-71 10-16 74.
Alabama (14-8)
Hall 1-1 1-2 3, Ingram 3-5 4-4 11, Jones 1-3 4-6 6, Lewis 10-17 3-4 24, Mack 10-16 0-2 25, Smith 3-5 0-0 6, Reese 0-1 0-0 0, Giddens 1-2 2-3 4, Petty 4-7 0-0 8, B.Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Schaffer 0-0 0-0 0, A.Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Norris 0-1 2-3 2. Totals 33-58 16-24 89.
Halftime: Alabama 41-38. 3-Point Goals: Georgia 6-25 (Harris 2-3, Ngumezi 1-2, Hightower 1-3, Hammonds 1-4, Crump 1-6, Wilridge 0-1, Claxton 0-2, Jackson 0-4), Alabama 7-18 (Mack 5-7, Ingram 1-2, Lewis 1-4, Reese 0-1, Norris 0-1, Petty 0-3). Fouled Out: Harris. Rebounds: Georgia 32 (Claxton 9), Alabama 36 (Hall 8). Assists: Georgia 15 (Ogbeide, Jackson, Hightower, Claxton, Harris 2), Alabama 13 (Lewis 7). Total Fouls: Georgia 20, Alabama 14.
