No. 22 Alabama Basketball Easily Dispatches South Alabama
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— For the Alabama men’s basketball team, the dominant run of form that has characterized the start to this season continued on Tuesday night. Against Richie Riley and South Alabama, the No. 22 Crimson Tide moved to 3-0 on the strength of another dynamic performance that once again resulted in 100 points. The final score was an extremely lopsided 102-46. This result marked the first time an Alabama team scored 100 points or more in its first three contests since the 1956-57 campaign.
The game started off as a competitive one. The Jaguars (1-2), particularly Maxwell Land, kept stride with Alabama in the opening minutes, even leading at various points. When the Crimson Tide’s Mo Wague broke a 15-15 tie with a dunk, Alabama had not held the advantage on the scoreboard since it was 4-2. From there, to close out the first half, the Crimson Tide outscored South Alabama 32-8. At the first media timeout of the second half, Alabama had outpaced the Jaguars by a 10-3 margin.
Point guard Mark Sears, whose 17 second-half points last Friday against Indiana State propelled him to being one of three players with 20-plus points in that game, stormed out of the gates on Tuesday with 13 first-half points. He beat out Land, South Alabama’s best scorer on the night, equaling almost his full-game total (15) in the first 20 minutes. Freshman Sam Walters tried crashing the party with 16, but that was just shy of Sears’ 17. Other double-digit scorers for Alabama were Nick Pringle and Mo Wague, with 12 and 10 points respectively.
The Crimson Tide will get yet another home date on Friday, facing off with the Mercer Bears in Tuscaloosa at 7 p.m. on Nov. 17.
How It Happened:
Second Half:
- For the third consecutive game, the Crimson Tide offense has reached 100 points. The final score in Coleman is 102-46.
- At the under-four, the final designated media timeout of the game, this one's all but over. Alabama leads 87-35, or for those inclined in the arithmetic category, by 52 points. 3:47 to play.
- South Alabama has not made a field goal for 11 minutes.
- At the under-eight timeout, it's more of the same inside Coleman Coliseum. Alabama is still leading it big, up 76-33 with 7:25 on the clock.
- Under-12 timeout with 11:01 to go. South Alabama has scored just seven points in the half so far, to Alabama's 19. 66-30 Crimson Tide.
- Richie Riley takes a full timeout. South Alabama is down 32 points with 13:59 to go in the game.
- At the under-16 timeout of the second half, Alabama is in front 57-26. Sears leads all scorers with 15.
- Grant Nelson hasn't been perfect at handling the basketball, with a couple miscues on the last possession that led to a Crimson Tide foul on the other end.
- Huge dunk for Nick Pringle puts Alabama up 55-26 with 17:50 remaining in the game.
- First points of the second half go to Mark Sears and Alabama.
- The second half gets underway at 8:03 p.m. CT.
First Half:
- Halftime arrives at 7:46 p.m. CT with the Crimson Tide in front 47-23. Since the 15-15 tie, Alabama outscored the Jaguars 32-8.
- South Alabama ends its scoring drought with 2:47 in the half. Timeout Alabama.
- At the under-four, the Crimson Tide is like a well-oiled machine. South Alabama, meanwhile, is scoreless in the last four minutes and scrambling for anything. The paint presence has become frazzled, and the shots aren't falling from long range.
- Alabama is on a 23-2 run over the past seven minutes.
- A pair of emphatic dunks by Grant Nelson and Nick Pringle rile up Coleman. Richie Riley calls timeout with 5:56 in the half and his Jaguars trailing 32-17.
- Rylan Griffen gets a needed three-point basket, to the delight of the crowd. Alabama is beginning to open up and now leads 28-17 at the under-eight timeout.
- Alabama takes its first lead since it was 4-2 on a Mo Wague dunk.
- Under-12 timeout: Alabama has tied the game at 15 and just won possession on a jump ball. One triple on the Crimson Tide's ledger thus far, courtesy of Mark Sears.
- Grant Nelson is fouled and takes to the line with 12:48 to go in the half. The Crimson Tide is spreading the ball around a bit better as the half wears on. As for the free throws, Nelson sinks one of two. South Alabama leads by a pair, 15-13.
- At the first media timeout, South Alabama leads by a point (5-4). Jags playing hard in the paint on both sides, which has been the early difference. Crimson Tide has yet to make a three-point shot in two tries.
- Tipoff at 7:01 p.m. CT won by the Jaguars. First basket of the game to Alabama's Aaron Estrada.
Pregame:
- Starting lineup for the Crimson Tide: Mark Sears, Grant Nelson, Rylan Griffen, Nick Pringle and Aaron Estrada.
- Kris Parker, for whom head coach Nate Oats mentioned a potential redshirt yesterday, is not dressed out.
