THREE-FOR-ALL! Bama bench tossed after brawl & Sexton leads 3-on-5 surge
Collin Sexton, Alabama’s pitiless scoring machine, watched as fellow members of the Crimson Tide marched off the court, one by one, and into the locker room during the second half against Minnesota Saturday. First, five teammates were ejected for rushing on court during a skirmish with 14 minutes left. The mass exodus meant Alabama had no reserves left to substitute into the Barclays Center Classic final. Dazon Ingram, an Alabama big man, then fouled out of the game. That made it five on four with 11:37 to go. Among 3,469 fans in the stands, Sexton’s mother, Gia, surveyed the situation. She calculated the casualties and shouted for all to hear.
“My baby’s gonna make ESPN tonight!” she said.
Downsizing continued. Alabama guard John Petty landed on a Gopher’s foot after a shot. He grabbed his ankle, writhed in pain and punched the hardwood five times. Alabama staff members carried him off to the arena’s back corridor. Sexton remained with Galin Smith and Riley Norris on court. It was three-on-five basketball thereon. For the final 10:41 of the contest, Alabama made Minnesota uncomfortable despite the numbers advantage.
“Insanity ensued,” Minnesota coach Richard Pitino said.
Sexton forged ahead. He slipped past defenders, broke double teams and dropped off an assist inside. Once up 18 with 18:35 left in the game, Minnesota watched Sexton go for 31 points in the second half to trim the Tide’s deficit to three with 1:39 remaining. That was as close as Alabama would get. With Minnesota’s Amir Coffey at the line and the Gophers up five, Sexton, hands on his knees and breathing heavily in front of the Minnesota bench, turned to Pitino and his players. “Call a time out?” Sexton said. Pitino smiled. He declined. No. 14 Minnesota managed to stave off Sexton to win, 89-84. Pitino complimented the freshman guard afterward. Sexton finished with a career-high 40 points. He scored 19 points while flanked by two teammates. During that stretch, he hit three 3-pointers to keep No. 25 Alabama alive. Minnesota flailed.
“We don’t practice a lot of five-on-three offense so that one’s on me,” Pitino said. “And then Collin Sexton obviously had an out of body experience. He’s good enough to beat a team with just one guy.”
Alabama coach Avery Johnson offered no excuses. A day earlier, when asked about Sexton’s struggles in scoring 10 points against BYU, Johnson insisted, “We’re not a oneman band!” Sexton proved to be the maestro when it mattered. Johnson employed a triangular zone and trusted Sexton’s instincts. According to NCAA rules, Alabama could have continued with two players, and perhaps only one. Rule 3, Sec. 1, Article 3 states, “When
there is only one player participating for a team, that team shall forfeit unless the referee believes that both teams have an opportunity to win.”
“We were still in the huddle drawing up plays, trying to solve problems,” Johnson said. “We just didn’t give up.”
Plenty of dark moments occurred. Both coaches were called for technical fouls. Minnesota guard Nate Mason was whistled for two technical fouls and thrown out of the game. His chirping commenced after he shook Sexton on a dribble early in the second half. Sexton fell to the ground. Mason stopped, stared at him and knocked down a three with 14 minutes left. Mason and Sexton were issued one technical apiece. Mason continued to talk trash while Sexton folded his hands and bowed his head. A second technical on Mason was meted out. A minute later, the Alabama bench emptied following a play when Ingram fouled Minnesota’s Dupree McBrayer. Minnesota’s coaches held back several Gophers. Pitino’s father, Rick, the former Louisville coach, sat five rows back and stood up to shout, “Get them back!”
“I’ve never, ever seen that in my life. Ever, in my life,” Richard Pitino said. “Not only the ejections, then the kid fouls out, then the kid gets hurt. Never. And then Collin Sexton absolutely loses his mind.”
Alabama coach Avery Johnson worked around the attrition. When it was five on four, the Crimson Tide gave the Gophers the wide-open midrange jump shot. Minnesota guard Jamir Harris hit a pair of threes, but Sexton, a potential NBA lottery pick, went wild with scouts in the crowd. He connected on 4 of his 7 attempts from beyond the arc. Fans chanted, “Coll-in Sex-ton! Coll-in Sex-ton!” in the final minute. After the final buzzer, Sexton gathered his two remaining teammates for a hug. He then embraced his father, Darnell, by the corner of the court. Children lined the tunnel to Alabama’s locker room and high-fived Sexton as he exited.
“It was mostly just Collin Sexton throwing up threes, to be honest with you,” said Minnesota forward Jordan Murphy, who scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. “He was pulling up from anywhere. It was just a limitless range type of thing.”
Pitino accepted blame for his team’s failure to better fend off the Tide’s surge.
“I hope we don’t have to experience that for the rest of my life,” he said.
Arena security re-routed the teams’ exits to keep them apart afterward. Alabama’s players and coaches ambled out of the Barclays Center locker room after Minnesota had left. Petty wore a walking boot and used crutches as he made his way down the ramp to the bus as it idled for departure. Sexton grabbed a plastic bag of Dallas BBQ and sipped a smoothie. He wore flip slops and met with a few supporters. He boarded the bus. The side of it read: “Relax, you’re
riding with us.”