TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – After losing three straight games to Purdue, Creighton, and Arizona, Alabama returned to Tuscaloosa needing a win against Eastern Kentucky to right the ship heading into Christmas.
That is exactly what they got. A 111-67 victory over the Colonels not puts Alabama at 7-5 right before a Christmas break. The Crimson Tide lead wire-to-wire and despite a poor start to the second half, they were dominate.
Alabama jumped out to a big 34-16 lead just 10 minutes in. That lead eventually grew to nearly 30 points, as the Crimson Tide lead 61-32 going into the half. The team shot 64 percent from the field, and were over 50 percent from three.
The biggest thing that propelled Alabama in that first half was their 16 assists. The ball movement and making the extra pass helped them get multiple open looks from three, and that also gave Alabama a 19-1 advantage in bench points.
“We told our guys we want them to play for each other and to get the ball moving. We want to really make sure that they’re playing unselfish basketball,” Head Coach Nate Oats said.
Rylan Griffen lead the way with 19 points and six rebounds, and Grant Nelson had a bounce back game, scoring 19 points and getting five assists. Aaron Estrada, Davin Cosby, and Sam Walters all scored 12 points, and Mark Sears had 11 to round out the double digit scorers.
“I thought (Aaron) Estrada really lead the way…I thought that was his best overall game he’s played here and Mark (Sears) had five assists and no turnovers but I thought both those guys got the ball moving and took care of it,” Oats added.
The second half started with Eastern Kentucky going on a 13-0 run in three minutes to cut the deficit to just 16. The starting unit going into the second half was benched just two minutes in, with Oats wanting a response from his key players. The message was well received and the 16 point lead swelled to 25 points, and Alabama regained control.
“Obviously the start of the second half wasn’t what we wanted, but we responded pretty well after the poor start,” Oats said.
The Colonels could not keep up with the Crimson Tide after the opening minutes, and eventually the Alabama lead got to over 40 points and the team looked like the one that was dominating in the first half.
I thought (Aaron) Estrada really lead the way of doing that, you know, almost a triple double with twelve, eight, and seven and I thought that was his best overall game he’s played here and Mark (Sears) had five assists and no turnovers but I thought both those guys got the ball moving and took care of it.
Alabama’s biggest takeaway from this game is that when the shots are falling, they play like a team that can beat anybody. That was the biggest problem in the games against Purdue, Creighton, Arizona. There were cold streaks that put Alabama behind and against those teams it is hard to come back.
Overall, the win puts Alabama at 7-5 as they have one more game against Liberty on Dec. 30 in Birmingham before they start SEC play on the road against Vanderbilt on Jan. 6.
-40-
