Petty’s 20 points leads Alabama past Missouri 88-74

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — John Petty scored 20 points and Alex Reese and Jaden Shackelford each had 17 to lead Alabama to an 88-74 victory over Missouri on Saturday.

The Crimson Tide (10-7, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) built a 12-point second-half lead and then withstood challenges to punctuate a week that included handing No. 4 Auburn its first loss. The final margin was the game’s biggest.

Missouri (9-8, 1-4) pulled to within three points several times, the last on Reed Nikko’s basket with 6:34 left. That was as close as the Tigers could come despite making all 31 free throw attempts.

That foul shot success set an SEC mark. The league’s previous high for free throw perfection came when Florida made all 27 attempts against Tennessee in 1994.

Petty scored nine points down the stretch for the Tide. He and Reese each made four 3-pointers.

Herb Jones had 11 points and 12 rebounds for Alabama. Kira Lewis scored 10 points and had seven assists but also turned it over six times.

Dru Smith led Missouri with 18 points and six rebounds. Mark Smith scored 15. Kobe Brown and Xavier Pinson each added 11 points.

The style played mostly in Alabama’s favor in a matchup of the nation’s No. 4 scoring offense for the Tide and the SEC’s top defensive team. The Tigers, who came in allowing 59.7 points per game, gave up a season-high.

They hadn’t given up more than 77 in a game.

Petty went scoreless for the first nine minutes and then hit three 3-pointers over the next 2:07 for the Tide. He got hot again late, scoring on a drive, two free throws, a 3-pointer and a jumper.

The Tigers went a span of 10 minutes, 47 seconds in between baskets in the first half. Pinson snapped the drought with a layup he turned into a three-point play after a foul.

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: Missed 10 straight shots in the first half but the Tigers did hit all 21 free throw attempts. Shot 31% (19 of 61) from the field.

Alabama: Finished off a big week after Wednesday’s 83-64 romp over No. 4 Auburn. Made 11 3-pointers in the first half before cooling off with two after the half.

UP NEXT

Missouri: Hosts Texas A&M on Tuesday night.

Alabama: Visits Vanderbilt on Wednesday night.

____

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25