Alabama
14-6,6-1SEC
LSU
11-9,3-4SEC
Men's Basketball Dominates Second-Half in 21-Point Victory Against LSU
1/27/2024 10:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide improve to a conference-best 6-1 in Southeastern Conference play
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team posted its school-record sixth 100-point game of the season with a 109-88 win over LSU Saturday night inside Coleman Coliseum.
Five players scored double figures to lead the Crimson Tide (14-6, 6-1 SEC) to its second-highest point total of the season (111 vs. Eastern Illinois). Mark Sears hit all 11 of his free throws and led the team with 21 points, while Latrell Wrightsell Jr. had 19 and Aaron Estrada added 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Grant Nelson and Rylan Griffen added 12 points apiece.
The Tigers (11-9, 3-4 SEC) were led by Mike Williams III who finished with 16 points.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"I want to thank the fans that keep coming out. Our student section was great and I thought everybody was awesome. When the environment is loud, it is what makes college basketball special. So, I like to thank them and hopefully we can get them to keep coming out. Great offensive game, obviously. We've been on these guys about the turnovers and there were really only two turnovers in the first half. This is a pretty compliant group that tries to do what you ask them to do. The only issue is defensively we just aren't quite there yet. I didn't think it was there like it needed to be today… We were better because we outscored them offensively, we were a lot better than what we have been. We still didn't get the defense that we'd like. So, we were able to finally get a pretty convincing win when it felt like we needed to get one of those."
TEAM STATS
- This is the sixth game UA has scored 100-plus points, a program record, and first time it has occurred this season in conference play
- The point total marked back-to-back games the Crimson Tide has scored 106-or-more points against LSU in the series
- The last time Alabama posted 100 points in a conference game came on Feb. 18, 2023, vs. Georgia (won, 108-59)
- Latrell Wrightsell Jr. tied his season-high with five made three-pointers
- Alabama shot 56 percent (35-63) from the floor, 41 percent (14-34) from range and 89 percent (25-28) from the stripe
- In Comparison, LSU shot 42 percent (30-71) from the field, 39 percent (11-28) from deep and 63 percent (17-27) from the line
- Aaron Estrada won the Hard Hat Award
FIRST HALF
- The first half featured nine lead changes and five ties
- After head coach Nate Oats earned a technical foul with his team leading 41-38, UA held the Tigers scoreless over the final 2:45 of the half, going on a 6-0 run
- As a result, the Tide extended its lead to 50-44 as the teams headed into the break
- Latrell Wrightsell Jr. led the game in scoring at the half with 14 points, draining four three-pointers
- The Tide collected an assist on 12-15 field goals
SECOND HALF
- The Tide pulled away thanks to two big runs - a 15-4 run that turned a 64-57 lead into a 79-61 advantage and a 10-2 spurt that resulted in a 22-point UA lead (91-69)
- Mark Sears scored 15 of his 21 points and Rylan Griffen had nine of his 12 points in the second stanza
- Alabama dominated the boards, outrebounding LSU 22-14 in the second half
- UA outscored LSU 59-44
UP NEXT
- Alabama returns to action Wednesday when it travels to Athens, Ga., taking on the Georgia Bulldogs in Stegeman Coliseum
- The game is slated for a 5:30 p.m. CT tipoff and will air live on the SEC Network
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