Alabama 65, Texas A&M 44: Ricky Tarrant scored 15 points as the host Crimson Tide held off the short-handed Aggies in the SEC opener for both teams.

Retin Obasohan added 12 points off the bench, and Michael Kessens and Levi Randolph had 10 points and nine rebounds apiece for Alabama (11-3, 1-0 SEC), which won its fifth straight home conference opener and improved to 10-0 at home. The Crimson Tide enjoyed an 18-6 advantage at the free-throw line to survive a 5-of-23 3-point shooting performance.

Peyton Allen hit a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 13 points to pace Texas A&M (9-4, 0-1), which played without leading scorer and rebounder Jalen Jones (ankle). Second-leading scorer Danuel House shot 1-of-9 from the field and finished with five points for the Aggies, who hit season lows in scoring and field-goal shooting (30.8 percent) while committing 14 turnovers.

House headed to the bench after picking up two fouls in the first four minutes, and Texas A&M hit only five of its first 20 shots in falling behind 25-12. The Aggies, though, regrouped and outscored the hosts 12-2 during the final four minutes of the half to cut Alabama’s lead to 27-24 at the break.

It was tight for the opening 7:30 of the second half with Alabama clinging to a 36-33 lead before Obasohan scored eight points to fuel a 17-3 run and give the Crimson Tide a 53-36 advantage with 4:51 left. Texas A&M wasn’t able to get any closer down the stretch in losing for the fourth time in six games outside of College Station.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Alabama, which entered the game ranked 32nd nationally with 74 percent free-throw shooting, hit 18-of-25 at the line. … Texas A&M had won four of the last five in the series. … The Crimson Tide is 17-2 in SEC home games since the start of the 2012-13 season.