Live Updates: No. 10 Alabama Basketball vs Drake at the ESPN Events Invitational

The Crimson Tide looks to improve to 1-1 in the tournament after a disappointing loss to the Iona Gaels in the opening round.

Author:
Joey Blackwell
Publish date:
Nov 26, 2021 4:09 PM EST

On Thanksgiving Day, Alabama basketball fell to Iona in the opening round of the ESPN Events Invitational. While the score was a tight 72-68 in favor of the Gaels, poor free-throw shooting and shot-making from beyond the arc cost the Crimson Tide a spot in the winner's bracket.

On Black Friday, Alabama will look to right those wrongs.

At 3:30 p.m. CT inside HP Field House at Lake Buena Vista, Fla., the Crimson Tide will take on the Drake Bulldogs to advance to a final game against Miami on Sunday. After both teams started the tournament with a loss, Alabama and Drake are now looking to salvage the tournament with a win and a place in the final game of the loser's bracket rather than a final consolation game.

Should Alabama lose, it will still have a game to play on Sunday. However, both teams are now vying to not head into its final game with an 0-2 record in the tournament.

Follow along below for live updates, stats and analysis as the Crimson Tide take on the Bulldogs:

Second Half

Final: Alabama 80, Drake 71

Gary gets a rebound to bring his total to 10, and he now finds himself with a double-double.

Quinerly is fouled intentionally and goes 1-for-2 from the line. 80-71 Alabama with 28 seconds left.

Quinerly calmly hits two free throws to bring the Crimson Tide's lead to 10.

Gurley lays down a dunk. 77-69 Alabama with 58.8 to go.

Gary gets called for his third personal, bringing Alabama's foul total to nine. Drake misses the free throw, but then gets the rebound and a basket. Gary is then called for his fourth personal, and Drake is in the double-bonus. With 90 seconds left in regulation, Alabama leads 75-69.

Drake fouls intentionally and will send Gary to the line. Gary hits one and misses one.

Alabama responds with a jumper by Shackelford. Shackelford gets the defensive rebound on the next possession, then rolls the ball out to Quinerly, who makes the three-pointer. On the ensuing Drake possession, Ellis steals the ball, who passes it to Shackelford, who drives to the basket for two more points. Timeout Drake. Alabama leads 74-64 with 2:10 to go. Alabama now has a 13-3 run.

A three by Drake pulls it within three points with 3:17 to go.

Ellis makes both of his free throws to extend Alabama's lead to six points.

Roman Penn fouls out for Drake. Alabama will get two free throws when we come back from the under-4 media timeout. The Crimson Tide leads the Bulldogs 65-61 with 3:56 left to play.

Jumper good by Gary, and Alabama lead is extended to four. Gary leads the Crimson Tide in points with 13 and is one rebound shy of a double-double.

Drake ties it again with two more free throws, but a layup by Gurley makes it 63-61 in favor of Alabama. Gurley is fouled on the way up, but misses his and-one opportunity.

Alabama is also now in the bonus after Quinerly is fouled. At the charity stripe, Quinerly hits both to put the Crimson Tide on top by two.

Ellis picks up his third personal, bringing Alabama's total to seven and giving Drake the bonus. Drakes ties the game at 59 after making both free throws.

Ellis drains a deep three to tie the game at 57. On the ensuing Drake possession, Gary rebounds a missed shot and Gurley makes a long two-point shot. Alabama regains the lead. Timeout Drake.

Shackelford picks up his first personal foul, and Drake makes one of its two free throws to take a 57-54 lead with 8:26 remaining in the game.

Since the under-12 timeout, Drake is on a 6-0 run.

Ellis has now turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions for Alabama.

Drake is now four of its last four shots and has taken a 55-52 lead.

Drake briefly ties the game at 50, but dunk by Gary puts the Crimson Tide back up by two. at the under-12 media timeout, Alabama will have possession when the game resumes.

A five-point swing by Drake brings the Bulldogs within two. 50-48 Alabama at the 11:27 mark.

At the under-16 media timeout, Alabama leads 44-38. Gary and Ellis each have three rebounds in the first four minutes. Gary also leads the team in second-half points with three.

Quinerly is fouled on a three-point attempt and makes two of his three free throws. 44-38 Crimson Tide.

Gary rebounds the ball off of the glass from a missed shot by Quinerly, and tips it back in for two. Alabama leads 40-35 at the 16:50 mark.

Drake gets the ball to start the second half.

Halftime Notes

Shackelford finished the first half leading the Crimson Tide with 10 points. Quinerly and Miles both have six to tie for second.

Charles Bediako leads Alabama in both rebounds and blocks with four and two, respectively.

Of Alabama's 33 points, 22 of them came in the paint. That's exactly two-thirds of the Crimson Tide's points coming from the paint.

Juwan Gary leads the Crimson Tide with two steals.

First Half

Halftime: Alabama 33, Drake 29

Drake closes the first half with a 10-0 run to cut Alabama's lead to 33-29 heading into halftime.

At the under-4 media timeout, Alabama's offense has turned up the heat. The Crimson Tide is up 33-20 with 3:22 to go in the opening half. Shackelford leads the team with 10 points, while Quinerly and Miles each have six. Bediako leads Alabama in rebounds with four.

Quinerly nails a deep three. Alabama leads 31-18 at the 4:33 mark. While it started sluggish, the Crimson Tide is on a 21-4 run over the last 8:03.

Make that a 15-0 run thanks to a layup by Noah Gurley.

Drake's seventh turnover turns into two more points from Shackelford, who now has 10. The Crimson Tide leads the Bulldogs 23-14. Alabama is on a 13-0 run over the last 4:55.

Shackelford drains a step-back three to put Alabama up 21-14 at the under-8 media timeout.

For those keeping track, the Crimson Tide is 1-of-4 (25%) from the free-throw line so far this afternoon.

Shackelford is fouled on his way to the basket and the ball goes through the net. On the and-one opportunity, he misses it. Alabama leads 18-14 at the 8:47 mark.

Miles rebounds a missed three by Ellis and hits a layup. He is fouled on the play and misses his free throw. However, Alabama has its first lead of the game.

At the under-12 media timeout, we are tied at 14 points apiece. Out of the eight Crimson Tide players that have seen action on the court so far, seven of them have scored points. Alabama is trying to spread the ball around the floor more than it did on Thanksgiving against Iona.

Ellis has returned to the court for Alabama. He appears to be fine.

A layup by Gary is good, and Alabama is now four of its last five shots. 12-10 Drake.

Darius Miles hits a layup, assisted by Shackelford to tie the game 8-8.

Keon Ellis is hit in the face and goes down on the court. He gets up and walks off, wincing. Timeout as the trainers will evaluate him on the side of the court. Alabama trails Drake 8-6 with 15:56 to go in the first half.

A three-pointer by Shackelford is Alabama's first made shot from the floor. Alabama trails Drake 8-4 at the 16:42 mark of the first half.

A bad pass results in a turnover for Alabama. Drake is fouled on the ensuing possession, resulting in one point off of a free throw. Not the start Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide were looking for.

Quinerly is fouled and sent to the line. He misses his first but hits his second attempt.

Drake draws first blood with a short jumper by Tremell Murphy.

Alabama wins the opening tipoff, but is unable to score on the possession.

Starting lineups for both Alabama and Drake have been posted:

Pregame

Today's starting five players for the Crimson Tide. Notably, Juwan Gary has replaced Noah Gurley in the starting lineup:

Both Alabama and Drake have arrived to the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex:

Today's officials: Rick Crawford, DJ Carstensen, Shane Staggs

Check the below tweet for How to Watch information:

At Thursday's loss, Jaden Shackelford led the Crimson Tide with 19 points as well as rebounds with 10 — a double-double. The only other Alabama player to have double-digit points was Jahvon Quinerly, who finished the game with 15 points.