TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Crimson Tide took care of business Tuesday night with its 103-87 win against Vanderbilt.

Alabama separated itself from Vanderbilt down the stretch in the first half. The Crimson Tide shot 58% for the first half of the night, shooting 18-for-31 from the field and 4-for-11 from the 3-point line. 

Vanderbilt made two runs in the second half, one to start the second half and down the final stretch of the game. The Commodores took a 19-point Alabama lead down to 10 before the Crimson Tide went on a 12-0 run with the help of Alabama guards Aden Holloway and Chris Youngblood.

Vanderbilt made one final effort in the final nine minutes of the game that brought a 22-point lead for Alabama down to just eight, but the Crimson Tide answered back with a 8-0 and critical defensive stops.

“I was disgusted with the second half defense to be honest with you,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. “I thought we came out of the game with a way better attitude. I like that we held them to 0.82 points per possession in the first half, but then it jumped to 1.3 in the second half.”

Alabama guard Aden Holloway starred in the Crimson Tide’s terrific shooting performance in the first half. Holloway scored 16 points in the first half, hitting on all six of his shots and made both of his 3-pointers. Holloway finished the game with 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting and making four 3-pointers.

“My coach puts a lot of confidence in me, my teammates put a lot of confidence in me. It goes hand in hand, and I’m super appreciative of all of them. I would say it feels just normal,” Holloway said on his shot this season.

The Alabama offensive got production from various different players Tuesday night. Six Crimson Tide players scored at least eight points and three players scored 20 or more. Alabama point guard Mark Sears and forward Mohamed Dioubate scored 21 and 22 points, respectively. In the game, Alabama shot 56% from the floor and 36% from beyond the arc as the Crimson Tide shot 8-for-22 on its 3-pointers.

With Sears’ 21 points, he became a member of the 2,500-point club in his college career. Sears talked about how much the achievement meant, “I just want to thank all the great teammates that I have because without them I wouldn’t be able to reach that milestone and get an ovation from the crowd,” Sears said.

One aspect of the game that held Alabama back from burying the Commodores earlier in the game was the free throw line. While Alabama got to the line early and often throughout the night, the Crimson Tide failed to convert on multiple opportunities. Alabama shot 23-for-34 from the stripe with nine of the 11 free throw misses occurring in the second half.

The Crimson Tide won the rebound battle 44-39 over Vanderbilt. While Vanderbilt grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, the Crimson Tide defense stood tall, allowing only 11 second chance points. Alabama created nine second chance opportunities off the offensive glass and capitalized, scoring 14 second chance points.

The Crimson Tide and the Commodores were almost dead even on the turnovers as Alabama finished just -1 in the turnover margin. However, it was the Crimson Tide that doubled up Vanderbit in points off turnovers, out scoring them 17-8.

“With some intelligence and with some high IQ, we want you to play as aggressively as you can possibly play, and that’s when we are playing our best basketball,” Oats said.

Up next, the Crimson Tide will stay put in Tuscaloosa and gear up for a night game against the LSU Tigers Saturday night. Alabama and LSU will tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.