BamaCentral Courtside: No. 1 Alabama 96, No. 16 Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 75
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— The Alabama Crimson Tide put on a show against the Texas A&M - Corpus Christi Islanders, winning its Round of 64 matchup 96-75.
The bench carried Alabama to the win as the reserves combined for 49 points. Nick Pringle led the Tide in scoring, putting up team highs in points (19) and rebounds (15) to finish with a double-double. Nimari Burnett also had a good game off the bench, adding 11 points on 3-for-6 shooting from downtown.
In terms of the starters, Brandon Miller was held scoreless for the first time in his collegiate career. But three other starters reached double figures, led by Mark Sears' 15 points and Jahvon Quinerly's 13 points. Noah Clowney was limited due to foul trouble, but he still scored 10 points add grabbed four rebounds.
"March, survive and advance, I think that's what we did," head coach Nate Oats said after the game. "It was a good offensive game. Our defense has to get a lot better by Saturday. It was nice to come out and make some shots.
"We'll be better against Maryland; we are going to have to be or we won't get a win. Great to move to the second round. None of these tournament games are supposed to be easy."
The Islanders' Trevian Tennyson led all scorers with 20 points on 21 shots. Isaac Mushila was second on the team with 16 points while grabbing a team-high 15 boards. Owen Dease and Ross Williams were the other double-digit scorers for Texas A&M - CC, contributing 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Alabama's next opponent will be the Maryland Terrapins, who edged out West Virginia 67-65.
Check out the video embedded in the story where BamaCentral's own Joey Blackwell, Blake Byler and Mason Smith discuss the Crimson Tide's 96-75 win over the Islanders.
See also: No. 1 Alabama Handles Texas A&M-CC in NCAA Tournament First Round
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