Philon, Holloway shine as Alabama beats St. John's

Alabama Crimson Tide guard Labaron Philon (0) celebrates in the second half against the St. John's Red Storm at Madison Square Garden. Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Labaron Philon, Aden Holloway highlight offensive outburst as Alabama beats St. John's

By Andrew Wright | Last updated Nov 8, 2025 2:59 PM ET

College basketball is officially back in full swing. The first week of the 2025-26 season was highlighted Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden as the No. 15 Alabama Crimson Tide won a thriller over the No. 5 St. John's Red Storm, 103-96.

Aden Holloway and Labaron Philon were phenomenal

The duo of Holloway and Philon combined to score 46 of Alabama's 103 points. Holloway poured in 21 on 9-for-18 shooting while Philon led all scorers with 25 points on an extremely efficient 10-for-17 shooting.

The two also combined to knock down four of the 11 threes made by the Crimson Tide.

Bench production

Alabama got an unexpected performance off its bench from Latrell Wrightsell. He poured in 17 points off the bench and was 4-for-8 shooting from three-point range.

The 17 points from the fifth-year senior were his most since the first round of the NCAA Tournament two seasons ago.

EARLY GAME OF THE YEAR CONTENDER IN MSG

No. 15 Alabama takes a THRILLING victory over No. 5 St John’s pic.twitter.com/50DdczMTXA
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) November 8, 2025

Turnovers haunted St. John's

Despite the loss, St. John's actually had a higher field-goal, three-point and free-throw percentage for the game. It was the turnovers, though, that eventually may have cost the Red Storm the game.

St. John's finished with 12 turnovers, compared to just seven from the Crimson Tide. Zuby Ejiofor and Oziyah Sellers had four each, combining for 75% of the team's total.

Upcoming schedules

The schedule for Alabama doesn't let up in the slightest, as its next three games come against ranked opponents. That includes Thursday when it hosts No. 1-ranked Purdue.

St. John's will get a two-game stretch against William & Mary and Bucknell before a ranked showdown with No. 16 Iowa State in two weeks.

Andrew Wright

Andrew "Dew" Wright graduated from Charleston Southern University with a degree in Communication Studies. He is a lifelong Chicago Cubs and Washington Commanders fan.

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