Alabama Leads Auburn at Half as Purdue Rolls Past Purdue Fort Wayne

Alabama and Auburn trade runs in Birmingham

No. 20 Alabama led Auburn 44-41 at halftime Thursday in 'The Feud,' the rivals' preseason exhibition at Legacy Arena in Birmingham. The final score was not available when this report was filed. Alabama's official game guide identified the contest as the Crimson Tide's final preseason tune-up after wins over Furman and Ole Miss, and confirmed that the game does not count in either team's regular-season record. ^{[1] [2]}

Qayden Samuels paced Alabama with 14 first-half points, according to Sports Illustrated's live report. Auburn briefly led 36-34 late in the half before Alabama closed strongly enough to take a three-point edge to the locker room. Auburn's work on the offensive glass kept the game close: the Tigers collected 11 offensive rebounds to Alabama's seven in the opening 20 minutes. ^[2]

The rivalry intensity surfaced early. Sports Illustrated reported that Alabama's Amari Allen and Brandon Garrison and Auburn's Kevin Overton and Caleb Williams each received a technical foul after a first-half confrontation. The exhibition was the first edition of the Birmingham event and supplemented the teams' two scheduled Southeastern Conference meetings, rather than replacing either one. ^{[2] [3]}

Alabama entered the night 2-0 in exhibitions and averaging 101.5 points, according to the school. Auburn arrived after an 82-71 exhibition loss to Florida State. Alabama was without suspended guard Aden Holloway, while Anderson Diaz, Cole Cloer and Collins Onyejiaka were also out of uniform, the live report said. Freshman Jaxson Richardson was available after missing Alabama's first two exhibitions. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Purdue pulls away in Fort Wayne

Purdue completed the night's other prominent exhibition with a 93-62 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The Boilermakers made nine of 23 three-point attempts in the first half, then found easier interior chances after the break and stretched the margin to 26 points on an Omer Mayer three-pointer with about seven minutes remaining, according to Hammer and Rails' game recap. ^{[4] [5]}

Antoine West led Purdue with 16 points, Mayer scored 15 with four assists and CJ Cox added 13 on 6-of-9 shooting. Mayer and West combined for seven of Purdue's 13 made three-pointers. The Boilermakers also controlled the glass 42-17, with Jack Benter grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds, and held a 16-0 advantage in second-chance points during the first half. ^[4]

The result gave Purdue a second straight exhibition win after an 87-55 victory over Ball State. Coach Matt Painter's team next faces UConn in Hartford in its final preseason game. Purdue's official preview described the Fort Wayne trip as an opportunity to test a reworked roster away from Mackey Arena; the exhibition results are developmental markers and do not affect the Boilermakers' regular-season record. ^{[4] [5]}