TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Coming off a scare against Arkansas State, No. 2 Alabama rolled back into Coleman Coliseum looking to continue its undefeated start to the 2024-2025 campaign.

The Crimson Tide started slow, making just one out of its first seven three-point attempts and falling behind 12-7 early in the first half.

McNeese State led for the first 8:36 to start off the game, but it was not long before Alabama started to heat up. 

After falling behind 12-7, the Crimson Tide went on an 18-4 run to take a 25-16 behind the shot making of Alabama forward Grant Nelson.

Nelson led the team in the first half with 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting, including hitting two out of four threes and making all four free throw attempts.

“A big point of emphasis for us was to crash the offensive boards and beat them at their own game,” Nelson said. “I think me crashing the boards got me and the rest of the team fired up and settled in.”

Alabama head coach Nate Oats acknowledged Nelson’s impact on the team tonight.

“He was huge,” Oats said. “You know, this was a game where if he doesn’t play as well as he did, we may not have won the game.”

Point guard Mark Sears continued to pile on the scoring with 10 first half points, making all 3 of his shot attempts which included making both attempts from behind the arch. 

The Alabama defense tightened the screws midway through the first half, allowing McNeese State to shoot 22% from the three point line and forcing eight turnovers.

The Crimson Tide shot 48% from the field in the first half and made 6 of the team’s 19 three point shots. Alabama struggled from the free throw line however, making nine of 13 attempts from the stripe (69%).

Leading by 11 at halftime, the Crimson Tide came out of the locker room pressing the gas pedal and extending its lead.

Shooting guard Latrell Wrightsell made two quick threes that extended Alabama’s lead to 51-34 three minutes into the second half.

Wrightsell made four of his first five three point attempts, including all of his first three attempts in the second half. 

“I just give props to my teammates and coaches to just give me confidence. When I’m open, I trust my shot,” Wrightsell said of his second half shooting.

Wrightsell’s shooting contributed to pushing Alabama’s lead up to 21 points in the early stages of the first half.

But the Cowboys of McNeese State did not back down. 

Down 21 with 14:47 left in the game, McNeese State went on a 21-6 run to get back into the game and bring the Alabama lead down to 6.

During the Cowboys run, Alabama went on a field goal drought of over nine minutes, missing nine consecutive shots in that span.

Oats gave credit to McNeese State for not quitting despite Alabama being up 21.

“When we got up 21, they didn’t quit and they kept fighting and they ended up out rebounding us on the offensive side,” Oats said.

Wrightsell broke the drought with his fifth three of the night to push the Alabama lead back up to nine.

However, the game was still back-and-forth to the final minutes.

Teams traded buckets until Alabama pulled away with a little under three minutes to go. Consecutive layups from Nelson and guard Labaron Philon pushed the lead to 11 points with 1:39 left in the game.

The Crimson Tide held on to win 72-64 and moved to 3-0 on the season.

Up Next

Alabama will now start to transition into the difficult part of its non conference schedule. The Crimson Tide will travel up north to West Lafayette to take on the No. 13 Purdue Boilermakers on Friday.

The Crimson Tide feels like it is ready for the upcoming gauntlet of ranked opponents coming up

“I feel like we match up well,” Sears said. “We have big guards and we all play hard and come out with the right mindset.”

Alabama and Purdue will tip off at 6 p.m. CT on Peacock.