Labaron Philon Jr. matched his career high of 29 points and added seven assists to help No. 16 Alabama post a 104-93 victory over South Florida on Wednesday night in nonconference play at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Aden Holloway added 24 points and Hunter Mallette had 14 points and seven assists for the Crimson Tide (8-3), who recovered from Saturday’s 96-75 loss to top-ranked Arizona.
Holloway knocked down four 3-pointers and Philon and Mallette made three apiece for Alabama.
Izaiyah Nelson registered 25 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots for the Bulls (6-5), who had a two-game winning streak snapped.
Wes Enis made a season-best six 3-pointers while scoring 20 points and Josh Omojafo had 20 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out.
USF made 38.9% of its attempts, including 10 of 30 from behind the arc. Joseph Pinion had 11 points for the Bulls.
Alabama shot 44.9% from the field and made 13 of 33 3-point attempts. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. added 10 points for the Crimson Tide.
The Bulls trailed by three early in the second half before Alabama broke out with a 17-4 surge.
The burst started with seven straight points — the last five by Philon — as the Crimson Tide moved ahead 59-49. Philon hit a corner trey with 15:22 remaining to end that portion.
Holloway connected on a layup and a 3-pointer in a span of 49 seconds to make it 64-51 with 13:59 remaining.
Philon closed the extended run with a 3-pointer for a 69-53 advantage with 12:44 remaining.
Holloway canned another trey to give the Crimson Tide a 79-62 lead with 8:05 to go.
The Bulls later trailed by 11 before Holloway’s two free throws and Aiden Sherrell’s layup made it 96-81 with three minutes left.
USF inched ahead by one late in the first half before the Crimson Tide closed with an 11-3 burst to lead 46-39 at the break.
Enis made five 3-pointers and scored 17 points in the half for the Bulls. Mallette had 13 in the half for Alabama.
The Crimson Tide led 29-22 after Mallette’s 3-pointer with 7:30 remaining before the Bulls answered with a 9-2 run. Enis buried the 3-pointer to end the spurt and tie it at 31 with 4:47 left.
Omojafo split two free throws with 2:43 remaining to give USF a 36-35 edge.
–Field Level Media
