Grant Nelson scored 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting and Mark Sears added 15 points, leading No. 2 Alabama over McNeese State, 72-64, Monday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Nelson put the Crimson Tide (3-0) ahead for good with 10:32 left in the first half, draining a three-pointer that gave them a 16-14 lead.
McNeese (1-2) led the way through the first nine-plus minutes of action and started the game 6-for-9 from the field while Alabama went without a field goal 5:51 after its first basket.
Latrell Wrightsell Jr. scored 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting for Alabama, while Latrell Philon chipped in eight points. Clifford Omoruyi was held to four points but made up for Nelson’s eight boards with seven of his own.
The standout Parker led McNeese State with 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Alyn Breed added 17 points, but Javohn Garcia, the Cowboys’ leading scorer entering Monday, was held to four on 1-of-6 shooting.
Alabama was up 11, 41-30, at halftime thanks in part to a 15-2 run that began just before the midpoint of the first half. McNeese missed 9 of 10 field goal attempts at one point in the frame.
Nelson scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half.
The Crimson Tide started the second half with a 16-6 run to open a 57-36 advantage on Wrightsell’s three with 14:47 left in the game.
McNeese didn’t go away, though, scoring 14 of the next 15 points to cut the deficit to eight with 9:03 left. Sears responded to the explosion with two free throws to give Alabama a double-digit lead at 60-50, and the hosts led by at least six the rest of the way.
Alabama outshot the Cowboys 44 percent to 39.3 percent from the field and narrowly outshot them, 36-35.
–Field Level Media
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