Alabama's first point of attack against No. 5 Texas A&M on Saturday was to shoot over the Aggies to try to loosen up their opponent's vice-like defense and avoid A&M's massive frontcourt players.

But as the game rolled on, the Crimson Tide found out they could also play with, and actually thrive against the Aggies by beating at them at their own game.

The result was a near-complete performance as John Petty scored 18 points to lead four scorers in double figures to lead Alabama to a 79-57 win over the short-handed Aggies on Saturday at Coleman Coliseum in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

It was the Crimson Tide's first win by double digits against a top-five team since they beat Kentucky on Jan. 12, 1980, and their first victory over a top-five team since beating Stanford in the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

Alabama (9-4, 1-0 SEC) never trailed and led by double digits for most of the second half, using an 11-1 run to build a 70-51 advantage with 6:23 to play.

"Where was this team in Birmingham?" said Alabama coach Avery Johnson, referring to the Crimson Tide's 66-50 loss to Texas on Dec. 22. "That's what went through my mind. That's what irritates me.

"But the players came back and worked in training-camp style in practice all week. Overall, we were very competitive, engaged, and we weathered their run and were poised at the end."

The Crimson Tide, helped by a right leg injury to Aggies guard Duane Wilson that kept Texas A&M off kilter, cruised from there.

The Aggies (12-2, 0-1) usually rule inside with their dominating front line, but Alabama matched Texas A&M with 36 points in the paint.

Donta Hall added 17 points, and Collin Sexton and Dazon Ingram scored 16 each for the Crimson Tide. Alabama outshot Texas A&M 45.6 percent to 30 percent in the game.

"We've got a team full of guys that can score," Petty said. "It's all a team thing. We had some great practices after Texas. We knew we could play better than that."

The Aggies got 14 points apiece from post players Tyler Davis and Robert Williams but were just 2 of 20 on 3-point attempts, missed seven of their 20 free throws and were outrebounded 43-42.

Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy said the Aggies "looked like a dysfunctional team tonight because we were.

"We were without some of our most important players and Alabama did a great job of taking the game to us," Kennedy explained. "I've got to do a better job of coaching them in that situation."

The Crimson Tide's defense owned the first half as Alabama held Texas A&M to 29.7 percent shooting while building as much as a 12-point lead before settling for a 35-28 advantage at intermission. A&M never led in the first half.

Alabama was not much better offensively, shooting just 37.5 percent from the floor, but they did convert 3 of 12 3-point attempts and Texas A&M went 1 of 10.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Petty, the second with 13:55 left in the second half, allowed Alabama to expand its lead to 57-41.

NOTES: Texas A&M matched its highest-ever ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 this week when the Aggies were slotted at No. 5. The 2015-16 Aggies also reached No. 5 in the AP poll. ... Alabama now owns an 11-5 advantage in the series with Texas A&M, including wins in four of the last five games. This game was the seventh time the two teams have played as SEC rivals. ... The Aggies played without leading scorer D.J. Hogg, who is serving the second game of a three-game suspension for breaking team rules, and guard Admon Gilder, who suffered a knee injury on Dec. 12 in a win over Savannah State and is not expected back until the new year. ... Texas A&M returns home to host Florida on Tuesday. Alabama heads to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt.