No. 16 Alabama uses big first half to hold off Kennesaw State

Field Level Media|published: Sun 21st December, 16:43 2025

NCAA Basketball: South Florida at Alabama

Dec 17, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Labaron Philon (0) dribbles the ball during final minute of a game against the South Florida Bulls at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: David Leong-Imagn Images

Aiden Sherrell finished with 21 points and seven rebounds, helping No. 16 Alabama stave off Kennesaw State for a 92-81 victory in Huntsville, Ala. on Sunday.

Labaron Philon Jr. and Aden Holloway added 17 points apiece for the Crimson Tide (9-3), who built a 26-point halftime lead before being outscored 53-38 in the second half by the Conference USA member. Jalil Bethea chipped in 11 points off the bench for Alabama, which was outrebounded 46-41.

Simeon Cottle led Kennesaw State (8-4) with 20 points, followed by RJ Johnson's 16 and Braedan Lue's 12 points and 10 rebounds. Frankquon Sherman totaled 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Ramone Seals scored 10 for the Owls, who dropped their second straight.

Kennesaw State opened the second half with Lue and Amir Taylor baskets to pull within 22. The Owls outscored Alabama 17-14 across the first 6:05 of the second, trimming the deficit to 68-45 on Johnson's layup.

Bethea's 3-pointer extended the Crimson Tide's lead to 26 before Seals' three-point play and Sherman's layup stamped an 11-3 Kennesaw State spurt.

Philon made baskets on consecutive possessions to give Alabama an 84-62 with 5:16 left.

Cottle's fourth 3-pointer and subsequent free throws with 25 seconds left stamped an impressive second half for the Owls.

Alabama jumped out to a 7-0 lead before the Owls cracked the scoreboard on Lue's layup with 17:10 left in the first half.

The Crimson Tide took their first double-digit lead as a pair of Holloway 3-pointer sandwiched around a Sherrell dunk gave Alabama a 18-6 edge. After Sherman's layup pulled the Owls within 11, Philon's triple gave the Crimson Tide a 25-8 lead, forcing Kennesaw State's timeout at the 8:53 mark.

Following seven straight Kennesaw State missed 3-pointers to begin the game, Cottle's triple cut the deficit to 37-17 with 5:34 left.

Lue's putback layup trimmed the Owls' deficit to 23 with 27 seconds left before Houston Mallette's 3-pointer in the final seconds gave Alabama a 54-28 halftime-edge. Sherrell's 15 first-half points led the Crimson Tide, who scored their second-most points before halftime in a game this season.

--Field Level Media