No. 6 Alabama continued its undefeated streak in Coleman Coliseum, defeating the Kent State Golden Flashes 81-54 Sunday to move to 5-0 at home and 10-2 overall on the season.
“We got a much better defensive effort, so it’ll be a much better Christmas break for us,” head coach Nate Oats said. “We put a much bigger focus on defense after that debacle in North Dakota.”
The two teams struggled offensively to start the game, combining to miss the first 13 shots from the field. The game’s first points didn’t come until guard Mark Sears made two free throws three minutes into the first half.
Guard Aden Holloway made Alabama’s first shot from the field at the 15:04 mark with a mid-range jumper. The shot sparked the offense, as guard Chris Youngblood made the team’s first 3-pointer on the next offensive possession.
At that point, the Crimson Tide took control of the game, going on a 16-0 run to jump out to a 20-4 lead. It was a balanced attack, as seven Alabama players scored during the stretch.
Turnovers and missed open layups prevented the team from extending its lead further during the first half. Near the seven-minute mark, Kent State guard Marquis Barnett made a layup, and forward Jarin Stevenson immediately inbounded the ball right to the Golden Flashes’ Mike Bekelja, who scored to cut the Alabama lead to 23-12.
The Crimson Tide recovered nicely, immediately going on a 7-0 run in which Sears added the team’s second three-pointer.
Both teams played back-and-forth for the rest of the half. Despite Alabama committing 13 turnovers and only shooting 2-17 from 3-point range, the team still had a comfortable 39-24 lead at the half due to Kent State shooting 9-39 from the field and 1-15 from behind the arc.
Alabama’s struggles from the 3-point line continued early into the second half, but the team found success getting from the paint. The team’s first 8 points in the half came from the interior via two layups by Sears, a layup by guard Labaron Philon and a dunk by center Clifford Omoruyi.
Both teams then hit a wall offensively, with neither making a shot from the field for the next four minutes of the game before Alabama once again hit its stride, going on a 13-2 run to up its lead to 60-37.
It was guard Houston Mallette’s made 3-pointer that finally got Alabama going from range. The team made four of its next five 3s, with two coming from Holloway and the other two coming from Philon and Sears to give the team its biggest lead of the game at 76-44.
The game remained out of reach for Kent State, giving Alabama’s walk-on forward Max Scharnowski the opportunity to check in for the second time this season before the game ended 81-54.
Sears led the team with 16 points shooting 4-9 from the field and 6-8 from the free throw line, while Holloway had 13 points and made a team-high three 3-pointers.
Forward Grant Nelson finished just short of a double-double, as he had 9 points and a team-high 14 rebounds, including six of the team-wide 20 offensive rebounds.
“We rebounded a lot better than we had been,” Nelson said. “We were able to turn it up a notch.”
The Alabama defense was strong throughout the game, holding Kent State to 28% shooting from the field and 7.4% shooting from 3-point range.
“We did a pretty good job making them take some tough shots,” Oats said. “Holding them to that low percentage from the field is a good effort.”
Alabama will stay at Coleman Coliseum for its next matchup Sunday against South Dakota State with a 2 p.m. CT tipoff. Fans can watch the game on SEC Network+.
