Alabama Basketball Defeats Chinese National Team 89-77
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Alabama basketball defeated the Chinese National Team on Friday evening in Paris, downing China 89-77 and finishing its Foreign Tour with a perfect 3-0 record.
China is ranked No. 29 according the World FIBA Rankings. Alabama won its first two games against the Spain Select and Lithuania Men's B Team, with the Crimson Tide prevailing in all three games by double digits.
Freshman forward Brandon Miller led Alabama with 21 points in the game and also recorded five rebounds. Sophomore guard Nimari Burnett placed second on the Crimson Tide in points with 13, also finishing with four rebounds.
Burnett was also the winner of Alabama's Hard Hat Award, joining freshman guard Rylan Griffen (Spain) and Miller (Lithuania) as the Crimson Tide's trio of winners of the Foreign Tour.
Freshman forward Noah Clowney recorded a double-double against China, totaling 11 points and 10 rebounds in the game. Six of Clowney's rebounds came on the offensive end of the court.. Juniors Darius Miles and Mark Sears finished out the double-digit scorers for Alabama with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Regarding team stats, Alabama out-rebounded China 47-36, with the Crimson Tide registering 23 offensive rebounds compared to China's 10. From the floor, Alabama shot 28-of-76 (36.8 percent) and was 6-of-32 (18.6 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Crimson Tide also forced China into 21 turnovers, with Alabama turning the ball over just 11 times.
After going on a 7-0 run to start the game, the Crimson Tide soon saw itself training China after a 17-4 run put Alabama behind 17-11. However, the Crimson Tide responded by hitting the next nine of 13 points, closing the first quarter by trailing 21-20.
In the second quarter, Burnett and graduate student guard Dom Welch hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Alabama a 31-27 lead. With just over five minutes left to play until halftime, the Crimson Tide would not surrender its lead again for the rest of the game.
Alabama outscored China 24-19 in the third quarter, taking a double-digit 65-54 lead as the fourth quarter got underway. The Crimson Tide stretched its lead out to as many as 20 points in the fourth, but China brought the game back to a 12-point margin before the final horn sounded.
With its Foreign Tour now complete, Alabama will make its triumphant return home on Aug. 14, arriving sometime in the evening. The Crimson Tide will then begin preparations for its upcoming 2022-23 season, which is slated to begin later this fall.
Alabama has yet to formally announce its non-conference schedule or an official date for its season opener.
Gallery: Alabama Basketball def. Chinese National Team
Photos courtesy of Alabama Athletics
