Alabama

Alabama basketball downs Memphis in final tuneup of preseason

Published

1 year ago

October 29, 2024

Alabama basketball downs Memphis in final tuneup of preseason

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – No. 2 Alabama basketball defeated Memphis, 96-88, on Monday night in a charity exhibition at the Von Braun Center. The Crimson Tide closed out the preseason with a perfect 2-0 record after having blitzed Wake Forest 10 days prior in Birmingham.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Clifford Omoruyi opened the scoring with a layup in the first minute of play. The first four were quiet for both teams from an offensive standpoint, but Alabama can catch fire quickly, and did, out of the first media timeout. Jarin Stevenson and Mark Sears knocked down back-to-back threes to give the Tide an 11-4 lead. The run was briefly interrupted by a Memphis layup, but Aden Holloway pushed the UA advantage to 16-6 with a transition and-1.

The Alabama lead in the first half ballooned to 13 points (26-13) after four straight points from Derrion Reid, but the Tigers slowly trimmed it to seven (30-23) after a 6-2 stretch before the under-4 break. But that quickly evaporated as Alabama went on a 16-9 run to close out the first half with a 49-29 lead. The scorching finish to the first 20 minutes was capped by a Sears three – the star guard’s third triple and the Crimson Tide’s sixth of the first half.

Memphis opened the second half by making its first six shots and cutting the Alabama lead to 14 points, but back-to-back threes from Labaron Philon and Houston Mallette put the Tide back on top by 20 before the under-16 timeout. The Tigers knocked down their first 3-pointer of the night with 13:17 left in the game – they had missed their first seven from deep. By that point, UA was 10-24 from beyond the arc, aptly illustrating the scoreboard disparity.

But the Tigers clawed their way back in the final 11 minutes. Memphis used a 9-1 run to slice Alabama’s edge in half, 71-61, with nine minutes to play. The Crimson Tide went 7:19 without a field goal but never saw its lead dwindle to single digits. A Stevenson three ended the drought and gave UA a 79-65 lead with 6:23 to play. The Tigers made things interesting late, getting as close as six points, 93-87, but Alabama held on to claim an 8-point victory.

It was a free-throw fest to end things, as the two teams combined for 96 attempts at the stripe, including 62 in the second half. The Tide went 30-48 at the line; the Tigers were 29-48.

PLAYERS OF THE GAME

Monday was a night that ended with Y, after all, and Sears led Alabama with 20 points. Sears was one of six Crimson Tide players to score in double figures, and Philon wasn’t far off from the preseason All-American, scoring 17 points. Omoruyi posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds despite seven fouls, as the teams chose to let players go on after five fouls. For Memphis, PJ Haggerty paced all scorers with 32 points. He attempted 18 free throws, and made 14 of them, and picked up eight fouls in a team-high 35 minutes.

FINAL EXHIBITION STATS

QUOTE FROM OATS

“There’s a reason we play the exhibitions – so that we can get exposed a little bit on what we got to work on. We definitely got exposed tonight a little bit. I thought our turnovers were not where we need them to be, and we got to do a better job taking care of the ball. Our defensive rebounding, our transition defense, they exposed in a bad way. They got all over the offensive boards, they had 23 O boards. They kind of came from everywhere, too. And then our transition – I mean, shoot, 36 fastbreak points is not good.

“So we’ve got a lot of work to do before the regular season, but I thought it was good that we got some young guys. Labaron is a freshmen that got to play. Holloway’s in his first year with us, got to play a decent amount of minutes with some of those other guys being out. Derrion’s been out a lot in the summer, in the fall with some injuries, so he’s a little bit rusty, but we were able to get him 24 minutes. Cliff, we need to get Cliff kind of used to our pace and our system a little bit more. So I think we got a lot of new guys a lot of minutes. Kind of if you go through the roster, look, out of the five starters, only one was with us last year, and off the bench, Mo and Jarin were with us last year, that was it. I think we needed to get to new guys kind of used to how we play, but we gotta be a lot better in a lot of areas.

“So super thankful Memphis agreed to do this for us. I’m glad we got to come up here to Huntsville. I think the crowd was great. I wish we’d have played a little bit better for them in the second half, but they were great. I enjoyed the game and glad we were able to get a win, but definitely got a lot to work on here.”

TID(E)BITS

– The Crimson Tide’s starting five consisted of Mark Sears, Aden Holloway, Labron Philon, Derrion Reid and Clifford Omoruyi. One returner, two transfers and two true freshmen.

– Alabama was once again without four scholarship players on Monday night. Grant Nelson, Aiden Sherrell, Latrell Wrightsell and Chris Youngblood were all in street clothes. Youngblood is expected to be out until December, but the other injuries are not serious.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Alabama will open the 2024-25 season on Monday, Nov. 4, against UNC Asheville. The Crimson Tide will welcome the Bulldogs to Coleman Coliseum at 8 p.m. It will air live on ESPNU.

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Alabama

Husband, 19, fatally shot wife, 24, himself at Alabama hospital moments after welcoming their first child

Published

5 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Husband, 19, fatally shot wife, 24, himself at Alabama hospital moments after welcoming their first child

A husband fatally shot his wife before turning the gun on himself at an Alabama hospital just moments after they welcomed their first child on Sunday.

Kynath Terry Jr., 19, gunned down 24-year-old Precious Johnson before fatally shooting himself inside the Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital around 9:30 p.m. Sunday night, WTVM 13 reported.

Johnson delivered a healthy baby just before she was murdered. It’s not immediately clear if the baby was present during the shooting, but police said that Terry and Johnson were the only ones injured.

Terry’s mother told the outlet that the couple were having some marital issues leading up to Johnson’s due date, but nothing that made her fear her son would become violent.

She told the outlet that Terry completed Army National Guard training before tying the knot with Johnson.

She noted that Johnson didn’t want Terry’s side of the family at the hospital for her child’s birth, but it’s unclear if anyone from the mother-to-be’s own family was there.

The hospital was plunged into a lockdown “out of an abundance of caution” while police investigated reports of a shooting. It wasn’t lifted until hours later when they determined there was “no active threat to patients, team members or the public,” the outlet reported.

The Homewood Police Department described the tragedy as “an apparent murder-suicide and is domestic in nature.”

Danne Howard, the president of the Alabama Hospital Association, told the outlet that the chilling attack “was an isolated incident” unlike anything she’d encountered during her three decades working in the state.

Howard said, in the wake of the tragedy, the Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital would undergo a security overhaul implementing “lessons learned” from a mandated after-action report.

Just three months ago, in a town six miles outside of Homewood, a beloved sports reporter was fatally shot by her husband before taking his own life. Their 3-year-old son, who was unharmed, led his grandfather to his parents’ bodies.

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Alabama

Air Force base security tightens, AL reacts after attacks in Iran

Published

18 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Air Force base security tightens, AL reacts after attacks in Iran

The United States and Israel-led attacks on Iran are having an impact in Central Alabama.

The military actions that began Saturday targets the military forces of Iran and the nation’s ability to build nuclear weapons.

In Montgomery, Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Annex have stepped up security so that all entry points will have a 100 percent ID check, the bases said on social media. The Trusted Traveler Program is suspended, which allowed Department of Defense identification holders to vouch for passengers.

Visitors without base access will have to go through the visitor center to get a pass.

Central Alabama residents react to the Iran attacks

For Travis Jackson of Montgomery, the attacks bring back memories, bad memories. He served one tour in Iraq from 2007-2008 with the U.S. Army. He attained the rank of sergeant before leaving the service and has worked the last 10 years as a community activist and diversity, equality and inclusion coordinator.

“I had a flashback of being overseas again,” he said when he first heard news of the attack. “The first thing I thought of was corporate greed. Of yet again seeing what has transpired throughout the years of any war overseas.”

He feels the attacks are a mistake.

“It’s going to be detrimental to the economy, notably with the increase in oil prices,” he said.

Removing the current regime in Iran and establishing a more western friendly country could improve hopes for a more stable Middle East, said Amy Stephens of Elmore County.

“I don’t know if there will ever be peace there,” Stephens said. “But Iran has been the causing trouble over there for almost 50 years.”

Ray Roberts of Prattville served in Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990 and 1991 after Iraq invaded Kuwait. He served in an ordinance company with the Alabama Army National Guard. He was a sergeant when he left the service and now works as a draftsman at a Montgomery manufacturing plant.

“It wasn’t a surprise,” Roberts said of the attacks. “President Trump had said they were coming. When he says something like that, he means it. I am glad we are working with Israel so it’s not just the United States. I wonder if Europe and some of the other Gulf nations will join the attacks.”

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com. To support his work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.

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Alabama

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey receives Boy Scouts’ Circle of Honor

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey receives Boy Scouts’ Circle of Honor

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey was honored for her lifelong dedication to youth and community service during the 12th annual Black Warrior Council Boy Scouts of America Circle of Honor awards luncheon.

The ceremony, which was held Feb. 27 at the Embassy Suites hotel in downtown Tuscaloosa, serves as a fundraiser for the council’s scouting program.

The Circle of Honor award is presented to people in west central Alabama whose livelihood and actions reflect the same values of the Black Warrior Boy Scouts. Recipients have also shown advocacy for youth and leadership in the community.

Past recipients of the award include Terry Saban, Nick Saban, former U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, scientist and philanthropist Thomas Joiner, pharmacist and retailer James I. Harrison Jr., civic leader Mary Ann Phelps and more.

Cathy Randall, a Tuscaloosa businesswoman, educator and philanthropist, presented Ivey with the award. Randall was inducted into the Circle of Honor in 2025 along with her late husband, Pettus.

Ivey said she was grateful to receive the honor by the Black Warrior Council and highlighted the importance of public service.

“I’m proud to have dedicated my life to public service, there’s no more noble calling than to uplift and empower lives,” said Ivey during the Feb. 27 ceremony.

Ivey thanked the scouting organizations, including the Black Warrior Council for its contributions to educational opportunities, economic development, and public safety.

“In particular, I’m proud of the work done by our Scouting organizations like the Black Warrior Council, who lay a foundation for successful future in both our young people and our state, thank you for all you do to build a stronger Alabama by changing lives and preparing our future leaders,” said Ivey, a native of Camden in Wilcox County.

Ivey is wrapping up her second term as governor after a long career spent primarily in government.

After graduating from Auburn University in 1967, Ivey worked as a high school teacher and a bank officer. She served as reading clerk for the Alabama House of Representatives under then-Speaker Joseph C. McCorquodale and she served as assistant director at the Alabama Development Office.

In 2002, Ivey was elected to the first of two terms as Alabama’s treasurer and in 2010, she was elected to the first of two terms as lieutenant governor. On April 10, 2017, Ivey was sworn in as Alabama’s 54th governor after the resignation of Robert Bentley. She filled out the rest of Bentley’s term before winning the gubernatorial election in 2018 and she was re-elected in 2022.

She will leave office at the end of this year.

She is the first Republican woman to serve as Alabama’s governor but she’s the second woman to hold the state’s top executive office. Tuscaloosa County native Lurleen B. Wallace, a Democrat, became Alabama’s first female governor in 1966.

Circle of Honor luncheon raises nearly $200,000

Also during the ceremony, retired DCH Health System administrator Sammy Watson, who served as the event’s emcee, announced that the council had raised $197,000 through the luncheon that day.

Proceeds from the lunch will be used to expand Boy Scouts programs, making them available to over 3,000 young people in west central Alabama.

The Boy Scouts of America is the nation’s leading outdoor education and character development program. The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.

Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@usatodayco.com. To support her work, please subscribe to The Tuscaloosa News.

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