A “dog fight” was how Alabama’s Jahvon Quinerly described the SEC tournament championship game and almost ended.
The two teams gaped in the middle of the court while some players were re-trained before Crimson Tide’s 80-79 victory over LSU on Sunday afternoon. The intensity never waned in a game that saw the front sides in the trade before Herbert Jones made the late layup and the defensive stop secured Alabama’s first victory in a conference tournament since 1991.
Both sides dealt with the fight before the game after Alabama’s third victory over LSU this season.
“We were in the shooting and layup lines and I turned around and saw a lot of commotion, so I was just trying to stop it,” said John Petty, an Alabama veteran. “It kind of stimulated us and made the game more fun. Honestly, I don’t know what happened, but something happened. “
The head coaches were not yet on the ground when the dispute occurred, but Will Wade of LSU said there was a high priority coming out of that.
“I think some coaches got involved and some players got involved after that,” said Wade. “I haven’t seen any videos of him yet, but Coach Oats and I talked about it and we wanted to make sure that we took our two teams to the NCAA tournament and we both got there without suspensions, so we made it. “
It also set the stage for the ensuing shuttle action.
“It definitely motivated us even more to get into the game, so I would just leave it at that,” said tournament MVP Jahvon Quinerly. “I didn’t really know what was going on, but it definitely motivated us and gave us an extra push before the game started.”
Javonte Smart of LSU also said he did not see the initial ignition point, but felt the impact throughout the afternoon.
“Between us and Bama, it’s always a heated rivalry whenever we play,” he said. “We just wanted to get out and start with an advantage, I think. I don’t know how it started, but it just helped us get into the game. Both teams were excited to play against each other and this is the kind of game you can get in a championship game. “
Alabama won LSU twice in the regular season – 105-75 in Baton Rouge and 78-60 in Tuscaloosa – but that would not be a blow. The Tigers took a one-point lead 27 seconds from the end of Trendon Watford’s layup, but Jones responded eight seconds later to what would be the decisive shot.
Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or in the Facebook.