Darius Miles and JD Davison Provide Spark for Alabama Despite Loss to Auburn
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Any time you hear the words Alabama and Auburn together, expect everyone's competitive nature to be at the forefront.
In a back-and-forth, emotionally-charged game, No. 24 Alabama was unable to overcome No. 4 Auburn in the final minutes on Tuesday night.
But it wasn't all bad for the Crimson Tide.
"There's a few positives, I thought we got pretty good play out of Darius Miles, JD played well for us there late," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said.
Auburn gained a 12-point lead over Alabama with 13:14 remaining in the game, and it seemed as if the Crimson Tide was all but done.
That's when Miles, who just two weeks ago did not play against Tennessee because of poor practicing, stepped up to be a difference maker.
He scored four straight points with a layup and two free throws, and he then added a steal that led to a JD Davison basket in transition.
In just over a minute, Alabama had an 8-0 run to cut the Auburn lead to four. Auburn responded with a 9-0 run of its own, and the lead stretched to 14 with 7:57 remaining.
Alabama's veteran guards Jaden Shackelford and Jahvon Quinerly subsequently found their shooting stroke, nailing back-to-back threes in transition.
Next, came the highlight of the night for the Crimson Tide.
Davison brought the ball up the floor, found a driving lane, and hammered home a thunderous dunk while getting fouled. He proceeded to hype up the crowd, something Miles had also done earlier.
"As the momentum changed, I think we needed that," Davison said. "It helped us change defensively, and we went down and got a lot of stops."
The spark by Davison stretched the Crimson Tide run to 9-0, and the freshman then dished out an assist to Shackelford for another three to make it 12-0.
Davison found Miles on the next possession for a lay-in, tying the game. Davison finished with nine point and four assists, and he was plus-11 on the floor.
Miles totaled 10 points and nine boards, just a tick away from a double-double. His performance was crucial as Juwan Gary found himself in foul trouble early.
"Darius was huge for us when we needed it," Oats said. "He's practicing harder, he's practicing with more consistency, being a little more focused in practice. He's always had the physical tools to be great for us, he's a skilled player."
On a night when Alabama's starting guards were a combined 23.6 percent from the field and the starting forward was in foul trouble, the Crimson Tide was able to find a surge elsewhere from Davison and Miles in the second half.
