JUST IN:WATCH HOW Alabama Guard Sets Season High in Scoring as the Crimson Tide Claims Victory in College Station…….

 

Transfer Chris Youngblood has his best night in an Alabama uniform as the Crimson Tide stays undefeated in SEC play.

The No. 5 Alabama basketball (14-2) went to No. 10 Texas A&M on Saturday and got head coach Nate Oats’ first career victory in College Station 94-88. The Crimson Tide stayed unbeaten in SEC play with strong rebounding, timely shooting and a massive effort off the bench.

Alabama guard Chris Youngblood was the second-highest scorer off the Crimson Tide bench, making half his 3-point attempts to reset his season high in scoring with 14 points. He chipped in with five rebounds an assist and a steal for his best performance of the year.

“So good,” Oats said on Youngblood’s performance. “We knew what we were getting with him from South Florida. He was the conference player of the year. He shoots it at a really high clip. He had to get off that surgery and get himself back comfortable. I told him he was going to be able to get some shots this game and we tried to kind of put him up with the press to have some other guys handling it to get him open. He goes three-of-six, he made a bunch of tough plays too, he’s a winner, he’s a competitor, he’s a leader. You want him in, he ends up in foul trouble – I thought he did the best job on Phelps tonight, and that’s with him still not 100 percent because he’s still trying to get back from the ankle surgery. His competitiveness, his winning attitude, boy it was great to see him drop some shots tonight.”

Youngblood missed the first month of the season after transferring into the program from South Florida by way of Kennesaw State. The 6-foot-4 guard shot 40 percent from 3-point range in each of the last three seasons but has struggled from deep since returning to health, making just 25 percent entering the evening.

The transfer’s quick trigger was dialed in against the Aggies, offering hope that his shooting is rounding into form after recovering from injury. He came off the bench making his first 3-point shot of the night extending Alabama’s lead from four to seven in the first half. He finished the half with six points, but his second was even more efficient as he scored eight points on three shots without a turnover, while securing three of his rebounds and his steal to help the Crimson Tide hang onto an important win in College Station.