Crimson Tide knock off Sooners

At 6-foot-10 and 230 pounds, Jermareo Davidson has always been tough to stop inside. Monday in Tuscaloosa, Ala., he displayed something that could make it even harder for opponents to guard him.

Davidson hit two sky hooks – the signature shot of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar decades ago – during the key second-half run in No. 8 Alabama’s 70-55 victory over Oklahoma.

“I’m just getting to where I was feeling comfortable,” Davidson, who scored 17 points, said of the sky hook. “No one can block it so far.”

One of the biggest fans of Davidson’s new shot is Crimson Tide head coach Mark Gottfried.

“I love it. It’s a shot he can make,” Gottfried said. “Nobody really shoots the hook shot anymore. It’s a hard shot to block.”

Richard Hendrix had 14 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double in the last six games as the Crimson Tide (13-1) dominated the Sooners inside to win its 15th straight home game and sixth in a row overall.

Davidson, who has had to deal with the deaths of his girlfriend and brother in the first two months of the season, said playing hard is helping him deal with his personal problems.

“This kind of helps me get away from things. It’s relaxing and it takes my mind off things,” said Davidson, who is averaging 14.6 points and 9.8 rebounds.

Ronald Steele scored 13 points and Mykal Riley had 12 for Alabama.

Tony Crocker had 15 points for Oklahoma (8-4).

Women

Carla Thomas had 16 points and nine rebounds to help No. 11 Vanderbilt beat La Salle 70-59 in Nashville, Tenn.

Lauren Lueders made a 3-pointer with 18:17 left to give the Commodores a 43-27 lead. But the Explorers chipped away and trailed only 59-53 with 4:33 left to play after a pair of free throws by Crista Ricketts.

Vanderbilt (13-1) sealed the victory when Caroline Williams hit a 3-pointer and Christina Wirth scored inside to push the lead to 64-53 with 3:03 to go. La Salle got no closer than seven points the rest of the game.

Carlene Hightower scored 21 points for the Explorers (11-3).