TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It certainly wasn’t the best the No 2 Alabama basketball team has looked in a while, but it’s how you finish that matters.
Alabama finished strong Friday night against Arkansas State, overcoming a late Red Wolves rally with one of its own to take an 88-79 win at Coleman Coliseum.
The Crimson Tide shot 44 free throws, but hit just 29. The 3-point shooting was off, too, as Alabama hit 6 of 31 from long range. Alabama was fortunate the Red Wolves were equally unimpressive in those categories, going 23 of 36 from the line and 6 of 28 from 3-point range.
“Our guys have to realize that the teams we put on the schedule, if we don’t play well and don’t move the ball and play selffish like I thought we did at times tonight, we’re not going to beat some of those teams,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said.
The saving grace for Alabama was rebounds and second-chance points. Alabama held a 50-41 rebound advantage, including 14 offensive and scored 21 second-chance points to the Red Wolves’ seven.
“We really won the game with offensive rebounds,” Oats said. “We made an emphasis of keeping them off the offensive boards and we did a nice job with that.”
Alabama had the game in control with six minutes left in the first half with a 38-22 lead. Then the Tide got sloppy and turned the ball over and gave the Red Wolves an opening, which they took. They went on an 18-5 run to close out the half.
Alabama got in trouble again in the second half after pulling ahead by eight, only for Arkansas State to go on an 8-0 run to tie the game, 68-68. Alabama went on a quick 7-0 run to take the lead for good and held off a scrappy Red Wolves team the rest of the way.
Mark Sears led the Tide with 19 points, with Clifford Omoruyi, Grant Nelson and Labaron Philon all hitting for 12. Derrion Reid had 10. Omoruyi also had nine rebounds while Nelson had six. Six other players finished with five each.
The Crimson Tide’s two top 3-point shooters were nowhere to be found. Sears was 0-for-5 and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. was 1-for-9. Holloway was the only Tide player with more than one 3-pointer. He had two.
Alabama (2-0) hosts McNeese State on Monday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. The game will be televised by SEC Network.
FINAL SCORE: ALABAMA 88, ARKANSAS STATE 79
(latest updates at the top)
• Alabama leading scorers: Mark Sears 19, Clifford Omoruyi 12, Grant Nelson 12, Aden Holloway 12, Derrion Reid 10.
• Alabama finishes 28 of 44 at the free thow line and 6 of 31 from 3-point range.
• Two free throws by Nelson makes it 85-75 with 1:12 left. Bama’s going to win, but there were some issues for sure – free throw and 3-point shooting was off the mark
• Philon with a floating in the lane to put Bama up 83-72, but the Wolves hit a three to bring the lead back to single digits with 1:28 remaining.
• Beautiful alley-oop from Sears to Reid for a basket. Timeout with Alabama up 81-72 with just under three minutes to play. 3-point shooting continues to be a struggle. Alabama is 6 of 30
• Wrightsell with a drive to the basket and Alabama is on a 7-0 run, up 79-70
• Beautiful spin move and basket for Derrion Reid. Bama up by seven.
• Sears hits two free throws, steal by Dioubate and Sears is back at the line. He makes one and it’s 75-70 Bama with five minutes left
• Grant Nelson with a strong move to the basket for two points. Arkansas State answers. Sears heading to the line
Timeout. Red Wolves on an 11-3 run but Bama has a 70-68 lead.
• Just like that it’s a tie game. Bama needs to settle down.
• Four point game now after a Red Wolves 3.
Foul on Bama. Three players with four fouls, including Omoruyi, Stevenson and Holloway. Bama up 67-61. Bama with 22 team fouls tonight. Still eight minutes to play
Big 3-pointer from Derrion Reid to make it 67-57
• Bama could be in for a long practice this weekend with the way free throw shooting is going. 19 of 32 is not too good for this caliber of team
• A questionable blocking call on Philon and Arkansas State follows with a basket. Alabama ahead 63-57 with 10:42 to play
• Just two Tide players in double figures so far. Sears with 15 and Omoruyi with 12
• Another alley-oop to Omoruyi. Stevenson follows with a tough basket and a foul. Alabama pulls out to a 62-53 lead
• Foul on Grant Nelson and free throws make it a 58-53 Bama lead with 12:48 left.
• Wrightsell finally gets a 3 to go down after four straight Tide misses. Bama up 56-48 with 15:27 to play. That’s Wrightsell’s first 3 of the game. He’s 1 of 6 from 3-point range.
• Beautiful steal by Philon and a basket to fire up the crowd. Bama up 51-46
• Omoruyi called for a foul and he takes a hard fall to the floor. He heads to the bench but he seems OK. Alabama leads 49-46.
• Alabama a little more aggressive to start the half.
• Dunk by Omoruyi gets the second half started. Red Wolves respond with a resounding duck of their own.,
FIRST HALF
Some first-half stats
Rebounding: Alabama leads 26-16
FG shooting: Alabama 11 of 30, Arkansas State 11 of 27
3-point shooting: Alabama 4 of 16, Arkansas State 4 of 18
Jarin Stevenson has four fouls
Aden Holloway has three fouls
Derrion Reid has three fouls
Mark Sears leads Alabama with 12 points
• Alabama closes out the final six minutes being outscored 18-5 and still leads 43-40. Terrible finish to the first half.
• Red Wolves on a 14-4 run over last four minutes. 43-36 Bama lead with 1:15 to play
• Red Wolves cut the lead to 42-36 with two minutes to play. Bama 3-point attempts not falling. 4-for-14 overall
• Sears’ bucket ends an 8-0 run but Bama picks up the 15th team foul on the other end. It’s not one-sided on the fouls. Arkansas State has been called for 14. Bama up 40-31 with four minutes to play
• Bama getting a bit sloppy. A couple of turnovers and the Red Wolves have trimmed Tide lead to 38-28 with five minutes to play
• Alabama’s size advantage is evident. Tide outrebounding the Red Wolves 22-11
Nice 3-point answer from Dioubate and a bucket from Nelson to give Alabama a 36-22 lead with 6 minutes to play
• Alabama doing a nice job driving to the basket. Just having some trouble finishing. Wrightsell’s two free throws make it a 31-19 lead with 7 minutes to play.
• Free throw shooting is off. Alabama 9 of 19.
• Red Wolves scores four straight and heading to the line for an and-1 chance. Timeout with 7:54 to play. Alabama up 28-18
• Sears finally breaks Alabama’s make-miss perforance at the line. Two free throws makes it 28-14 with 9 minutes to play
• Beautiful alley-oop from Derrion Reid to Omoruyi. Alabama up 26-13 with 9:46 to play. Alabama has 12 points on second-chance points to the Red Wolves 0
• Neither team doing well at the line. Bama is 7 of 15 and Arkansas State is 8 of 13
• An offensive rebound and a second 3-pointer from Holloway makes it 24-11.
• Monster dunk by Omoruyi makes it a 21-9 Bama lead. Timeout on the floor with 11:38 to play.
• Philon nails a 3 to put Bama up 18-9 with 12:30 to play. Philon came down hard on the other end of the court for a defensiive rebound and is fouled. He makes one., That seems to be the theme.
• Sears at the line. He makes one. Bama 6 for 13 at the line. But Holloway nails the Tide’s first 3-pointer for a 13-6 lead
• First timeout. Bama up 8-4. UA owning the boards early with an 8-1 advantage. 15:11 to play in the opening half.
• Philon at the line courtesy of Arkansas State’s eighth team foul. He hits one. Bama is 4 of 9 at the line. Not taking advantage.
• Looks like it’s going to be a long night. Seven fouls called and we haven’t played three full minutes.
• Arkansas State already with four fouls in the first two minutes. Free throw by Bama makes is a 3-1 game, but Ark. State goes up 4-3 on a 3-pointer.
• Jarin Stevenson heads to the trainer for what seems like a small cut on his hand. Grant Nelson is in for him,
• Derrion Reid gets the scoring started for Alabama with a nice drive to the basket. Arkansas State already with two fouls in less than a minute in,
• Nice meeting between Alabama head coach Nate Oats and Arkansas State coach and former Crimson Tide assistant coach Bryan Hodgson. Tipoff coming up
Alabama starting lineup
G 0 Labaron Philon
G 1 Mark Sears
F 15 Jarin Stevenson
F 35 Derrion Reid
C 11 Clifford Omoruyi
Arkansas State starting lineup
G 3 DerrianFord
G 6 Taryn Todd
G 11 Terrance Ford Jr.
F 0 Rashaud Marshall
F 8 Kobe Julien
Good news for Crimson Tide fans–if Alabama hits 15 3-pointers tonight, attendees get 50% off a Dominos Pizza. Alabama hit eight in the season opener.
Pregame:
Who: Alabama (0-0, 0-0 Sun Belt) at No. 2 Alabama (1-0, 0-0 SEC)
When: Friday, Nov. 8, 7 p.m. CT
Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Bryan Passink). The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.
TV: SECN+/ESPN+
Series: Alabama leads 3-0 with the first matchup occurring on Dec. 11, 1969.
Last meeting: Alabama dominated Arkansas State 89-65 on Dec. 4, 2023, with forward Jarin Stevenson scoring the most points at 13 off of the bench. Guards Mark Sears and Aaron Estrada and forwards Mo Wague and Grant Nelson also finished with double figures. Wague, who is now at Oklahoma, also led Alabama that game in rebounds (7), steals (4) and blocks (3).
Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide dismantled UNC Asheville 110-54 in its season opener on Nov. 4 in Coleman Coliseum. Preseason All-American point guard Mark Sears led the Tide in scoring with 20 points, center Clifford Omoruyi led Alabama in rebounds with nine, the same number of assists for guard Labaron Philon. Alabama also went away from its bread and butter of three-point shooting as the Crimson Tide only attempted 18 from behind the arc while scoring 56 points in the paint.
Last time out, Arkansas State: The Red Wolves took down Akron 80-75 in overtime of the MAC-SBC Challenge (and season opener). Guards Joseph Pinion, Derrian Ford and forward Kobe Julien led Arkansas State in scoring with 16, 15 and 14 respectively, forward Rashaud Marshall tallied the most rebounds with 10 and guard Terrance Ford Jr. recorded a team-high five assists.
