With help from a career-high 15 points from freshman forward Shannon Hale, Alabama was able to extend its conference winning streak at home to 13 games Tuesday night.
The Crimson Tide (7-7, 1-0 SEC) defeated Southeastern Conference foe Vanderbilt 68-63 in its first conference game of the 2013-14 season.
Hale started the game for head coach Anthony Grant and took advantage of his opportunities by getting to the basket.
“What y’all saw today was just a glimpse of what he’s capable of,” sophomore guard Retin Obasohan said. “Day in, day out in practice he’s shown what an offensive threat he is, and he just came out and played with confidence today.”
Alabama got off to a less than satisfying start to the season by going 6-7 in its non-conference portion of its schedule and looked to kick off its conference slate with a victory.
Tuesday night, the Crimson Tide took advantage of Vanderbilt’s mistakes by scoring 17 points off 16 Commodore turnovers, despite allowing Vanderbilt to cut it close toward the end of the game. Alabama led by 16 points at one point.
“I felt like we played in spurts tonight,” Grant said. “I was not happy with the energy in the second half and some of the things that we allowed to happen in the second half. So, I’ll have to go back and evaluate the film.
But certainly you always would rather learn your lessons through winning rather than having to learn your lessons through losing.”
Alabama finished the game with four players scoring in double digits.
Senior guard Trevor Releford paced the Crimson Tide with 16 points, six assists and three steals. Junior guard Levi Randolph contributed 11 points, while Obasohan tacked on 15. Obasohan scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, including a clutch three-point basket that gave Alabama a 66-60 lead toward the end of the game.
Grant said Obasohan’s development from a season ago has helped him progress and be able to take shots like he did in the game.
“There’s not a guy on our team that approaches every day with a better attitude, with a better work ethic, with a better understanding in terms of trying to do whatever he can to get better,” Grant said. “If you hear a ball bouncing before practice, he’s probably the guy out there shooting.”
Vanderbilt’s Rod Odom led all scorers with 20 points and 10 rebounds and couldn’t miss from the three-point line. He shot 5-of-7 from behind the arch.
The Commodores were without their leading scorer, Eric McClellan, who did not make the trip to Tuscaloosa, though the reason and timetable for his return are unknown, according to a report from The Tennessean.
As a result, Alabama had more players on its bench than its opponents for one of the only times this season. Vanderbilt dressed nine with McClellan not making the trip. Alabama dressed 10.
“Obviously, without one of their top players tonight, I thought they did a really good job of making shots, rebounding and keeping them in the game,” Grant said. “They had several guys step up in his absence.”
