Before beginning what is among the most anticipated seasons in program history, Alabama men’s basketball won the first of its two exhibition games Friday night in Birmingham.
The Tide hosted Wake Forest in Boutwell Auditorium, using 52 second-half points on 11-of-24 three-point shooting after halftime to blow past the Demon Deacons, 98-77.
Alabama finished 41 percent (19-of-46) on three-pointers for the game, with seven different players connecting from deep. Auburn transfer guard Aden Holloway led the way with 20 points on 5-of-12 three-point shooting. Preseason SEC player of the year Mark Sears scored 19 points on 4-of-7 three-point shooting, and freshman guard Labaron Philon added 13 points on 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Four Alabama players were held out of Friday’s game because of injury: forward Grant Nelson, guards Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Chris Youngblood and center Aiden Sherrell. That left Alabama with nine healthy scholarship players, and starting guard Houston Mallette — a transfer from Pepperdine — was limited to 17 minutes with four fouls. Mallette finished 3-of-6 on his three-pointers.
Sears started alongside Philon, Mallette, sophomore Jarin Stevenson and fifth-year Rutgers transfer center Clifford Omoruyi. Holloway and sophomore forward Mouhamed Dioubate came off the bench along with two freshmen in Derrion Reid (seven points, five rebounds, four turnovers, two blocks in 23 minutes) and Naas Cunningham (three points, one rebound in 10 minutes).
Alabama turned the ball over 10 times in the first half but out-rebounded Wake Forest, 27-16, to take a 46-38 lead at the break. The Tide cut its turnovers down to four after halftime but was out-rebounded, 19-17, in the second half.
Alabama, which is ranked No. 2 in the preseason Associated Press poll and was picked by media to win the SEC, will next play Memphis on October 28 in Huntsville’s Von Braun Center for a second exhibition. The regular season begins November 4 in Coleman Coliseum against UNC-Asheville.
Oats said during SEC media day earlier this week that Wrightsell could return for the Memphis game and Sherrell for the UNC-Asheville game, while Youngblood is out until December. Nelson could miss both exhibition games, Oats said during a pre-recorded interview shown during Friday night’s broadcast.
About 2,000 fans attended Friday night’s game in the historic downtown Birmingham venue, which had not hosted a basketball game in more than 45 years. It marked a return trip for Wake Forest to Alabama, which traveled to Winston-Salem, North Carolina last October for an exhibition against the Demon Deacons that the Tide lost.
