Alabama
10-5,2-0SEC
South Carolina
13-2,1-1SEC
Mark Sears Scores 31 Points in Alabama’s Win Over South Carolina
1/9/2024 9:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide downs the Gamecocks 74-47 in its SEC home opener Tuesday night
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama guard Mark Sears scored 31 points to lead the men's basketball team past South Carolina, 74-47, Tuesday night inside Coleman Coliseum. With the win, the Crimson Tide (10-5, 2-0 SEC) improved to 2-0 in Southeastern Conference play fourth straight year.
Sears and Aaron Estrada (17 points) were the only players to reach double digits as the duo combined for 48 of UA's 74 total points.
Alabama's defense was exceptional Tuesday night, holding South Carolina (13-2, 1-1) to a season-low 47 points while committing 17 turnovers. In the second half alone, the Tide limited the Gamecocks to just 18 points and six field goals.
The Gamecocks had two players score double figures in Meechie Johnson (16 points) and Ta'Lon Cooper (10 points).
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"It is great to be back in Coleman and to have the students back, I thought they did an outstanding job. The energy was great from the crowd. It wasn't a good start to the game. South Carolina is a confident team that's been winning; they were confident and came in ready to play. (Lamont Paris) does a great job and is a good coach and they got us out of the gate. After we settled in, we did a really good job the rest of the first half. So big conference win, we needed to go 2-0. We have a big one on the road against Mississippi State on Saturday and they're going to be tough, too."
TEAM STATS
- For the second time in his UA career Mark Sears scored 30-or-more points on an efficient 10-of-13 shooting from the field, 6-of-8 from three-point range and 5-of-5 from the free throw line
- Alabama shot 48 percent from the field and 44 percent from the three-point line on 15-of-34 shooting
- Aaron Estrada recorded his sixth game with 15 points or more with a 17-point, seven rebound performance
- Alabama forced the Gamecocks into a season-high 17 turnovers, the previous high being 15 against Arkansas State, helping UA own a 17-10 edge in points off turnovers
- UA held the Gamecocks to a season-low 47 points
- The Tide outscored USC 44-18 in the second half alone
FIRST HALF
- The Gamecocks started off hot early, shooting 50 percent from three-point range to aid a 13-3 run over the first four minutes of the contest
- The Crimson Tide responded with an 8-0 run over the next three minutes, creating six takeaways in just under seven minutes on the defensive end
- Both teams went back-and-forth in the first half with six lead changes and four ties
- Sears led all scorers with 15 points in the first half, sinking 5-of-7 from field goal range and 3-of-5 from deep
- Meechie Johnson and Ta'Lon Cooper both had eight points for South Carolina heading into the break
- A field goal by Aaron Estrada put the Crimson Tide up one point with just over 30 seconds to go in the half
SECOND HALF
- Alabama started the half on an 8-0 run to take a 38-29 lead, forcing South Carolina to take a timeout
- Alabama held South Carolina scoreless in the first six minutes of the second half and to just a pair of made field goals in the first 11 minutes of the second half
- Halfway through the second half, the Crimson Tide had drained 4-of-5 from long-range, shooting 80 percent from the three-point line
- Johnson recorded eight points in the second half, and was the only Gamecock to score more than two points over the span of the last 20 minutes
- UA led by 20 with just over five minutes to go in the game
- The Crimson Tide's largest lead (74-45) came inside the final minute off of a three-pointer from Davin Cosby Jr.
UP NEXT
- Alabama will be back Saturday as the Crimson Tide heads to Starkville, Miss., for a matchup at Mississippi State
- The Crimson Tide will tip-off against the Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. CT with the contest airing live on the SEC Network
For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on X and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
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