Alabama
22-11,13-5SEC
College of Charleston
27-8,15-3CAA
Alabama Advances to NCAA Tournament Second Round with Convincing 109-96 Victory over College of Charleston
3/22/2024 10:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Mark Sears scores 30 to help lead the Crimson Tide to a new NCAA Tournament school scoring record
SPOKANE, Wash. – The No. 4 seed Alabama men's basketball team put on a dominant performance in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, with a convincing 109-96 victory over No. 13 seed College of Charleston Friday night in Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena.
The Crimson Tide (22-11) led by as many as 31 points and put on a shooting display that resulted in a new school record for points scored in an NCAA Tournament contest. Mark Sears led the charge with 30 points and five assists, with just one turnover, as he became just the fifth player in school history to score at least 30 points in an NCAA Tournament contest. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. added 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from deep while Aaron Estrada added 13 points and team highs of eight assists and seven rebounds in the win.
College of Charleston (27-8) was led by Ben Burnham's 19 points to top six players in double digits.
HEAD COACH NATE OATS COMMENTS
"I thought our rebounding and defense picked up in the first half after we got down six, when Mo Dioubate and Mo Wague came in and really got the energy turned the right way. We really had problems rebounding the whole game. They did a great job on the glass. Give them a lot of credit. I thought they played hard. I think Pat (Kelsey) does a really good job. They had a good plan.
"I think our athleticism in some areas overwhelmed them and they couldn't stay in front of us on the defensive end. But they did a great job on the glass. I thought once we started to get some stops and rebounds, we were able to open it up a little bit. They say you win games in March with guard play. I think that's true. These guys here (Aaron Estrada, Mark Sears and Latrell Wrightsell Jr.) combined for 60 points."
TEAM STATS
- The 109 total points scored by the Tide set a school NCAA Tournament record, eclipsing the previous mark of 97 set vs. Xavier on March 14, 1986
- Alabama eclipsed the 100 point mark for the 10th time this season, which sets a new Southeastern Conference record
- Alabama advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season
- The Tide posted 51 first half points and 58 second half points, while shooting 60.0 percent from the floor, 56.5 percent from beyond the arc and 64.9 percent from the free throw stripe
- Mark Sears records finished the contest had 30 points, and became the second player in school history to eclipse 700 points in a season (706), joining Reggie King who owns the school record with 747 points
- Sears recorded his 23rd 20-point game of the season, matching Reggie King's school record for most 20-point games scored in a single season
- Nate Oats improves to 11-5 in the NCAA Tournament games as a head coach which includes a 5-3 postseason tournament record at UA
FIRST HALF
- The Cougars held the lead for the first nearly 10 minutes of the contest until a 10-0 run gave the Crimson Tide its first lead of the game at 23-19
- The Tide went on another 12-0 run to take its largest lead of the half, 47-32, at the 1:51 mark
- Alabama would extend its lead to its largest of the game at 17 at intermission, 51-34
- After hitting just 1-3 from beyond the arc, Alabama connected on six of its next seven attempts from deep
- Defensively, UA was just as strong, holding the Cougars to 1-11 and without a field goal over the final 4:04 of the half (0-8)
- The Tide shot 55 percent (16-29) from the floor, 54 percent (7-13) from beyond the arc and 67 percent (12-18) from the charity stripe
- College of Charleston outrebounded Alabama 23-20, including a dominant 11-4 edge on the offensive glass which resulted in a 13-2 lead in second chance points
SECOND HALF
- Alabama continued to dominate in the second half on both ends of the floor
- The Crimson Tide connected on 20-31 (64.5 percent) from the floor, 6-10 (60.0 percent) went on to score 58 points over the final 20 minutes
- The lead would grow to as many as 31 points when the Tide took a 95-64 lead at the 7:49 mark
- Aaron Estrada scored all 13 of his points in the second stanza
UP NEXT
- Alabama advances to take on the winner between the St. Mary's-Grand Canyon contest on Sunday afternoon
- The NCAA Tournament second round game time and television will be set at a later date
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