Strong Defense Propels Tide to 81-54 Victory

No. 6 Alabama took care of business in Coleman Coliseum against Kent State, taking down the Golden Flashes 81-54 despite a turnover-ridden afternoon.

Mark Sears led the Tide in scoring with 16, shooting 4/9 from the floor and 2/6 from three.

Alabama's Grant Nelson almost had a double-double, racking up nine points while snagging 14 rebounds, six of which were on the offensive glass.

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Sloppiness would plague the Tide offense to start the game; a flurry of missed three-pointers and turnovers would delay the first points of the afternoon until the 17:00 mark via two Mark Sears free throws.

Kent State's Cli'ron Hornbeak would answer back, scoring the first field goal of the game with a hook shot.

A series of missed shots and turnovers took the Tide to the under-16 media timeout.

The Tide would go on a 16-2 run out of the break to take the lead and extend it to 20-4.

Alabama would maintain its advantage over Kent State to around 15 points for the remainder of the first half. However, poor three-point shooting and 13 first-half turnovers would not allow the Tide to grow their lead any further.

Despite their poor offensive play, the Crimson Tide didn't let it affect their play on the defensive side of the ball, holding the Golden Flashes to 24 points. Marking a season-low for the Crimson Tide

It would be a similar story for the Crimson Tide out of the break: sloppy offense but dominant on the defensive end.

However, down the stretch, the Crimson Tide began to find a rhythm on offense. Alabama shot 7/18 from three in the second half, led by Aden Holloway, who sunk three out of six attempts.

The No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide improve to 10-2 on the season with one more game next Sunday against South Dakota State.

For more Alabama Baseball, Basketball, and Football content from Simon Besnoy, follow him on X/Twitter at @SimonBesnoy and stay tuned to Tide1009.com for daily news.