Alabama uses huge second half to earn blowout win over Auburn

Alabama erased a 10-point halftime deficit and outscored Auburn by 28 points in the second half to earn an 81-63 victory over the SEC co-regular season champions.

Collin Sexton put on another memorable performance for the Crimson Tide, with the freshman scoring 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting. He went 6 of 8 from 3-point range and knocked down all five free throws while adding seven rebounds.

The Crimson Tide struggled to get anything going in the first half and shot just 17 percent from beyond the arc.

However, the second half was a different story as Avery Johnson’s squad started the second half on a 20-1 run.

Alabama shot 56.0 percent in the final 20 minutes and went 6 of 10 from beyond the arc, and there was nothing Auburn could do about it.

The Tigers had perhaps their worst offensive half of the season in going without a field goal for the first 10 minutes and 12 seconds of the second half.

Mustapha Heron paced Auburn with 18 points, while Desean Murray added 15.

Auburn guard Bryce Brown finished with 11, but struggled the majority of the day and went only 1 of 8 from long range.

Alabama grabbed a 44-33 advantage on the glass and outscored Auburn 36-22 in the paint.

The Tide will advance to take on the winner of Kentucky and Georgia in the SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday.

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