Bama Central

Alabama Basketball Outpaces Longwood, Wins Season Opener 75-54

While the Crimson Tide struggled from beyond the arc, double-doubles from Brandon Miller and Mark Sears coupled with a solid rebounding game boosted the team past the Lancers.

Joey Blackwell

In this story:

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A phenomenal defensive performance combined with four double-digit shooters spelled the recipe for success as Alabama basketball defeated Longwood in its season opener, 75-54.

Freshman Brandon Miller recorded a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds along with Mark Sears, who also recorded a double-double of his own with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

"Great defensive game to start the year out," Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats said after the game. "I thought our defense was much-improved. I've been telling you we were going to be a better defensive team, but also told you we'd be a better shooting team and that didn't show up tonight.

"[Longwood]'s a good team. They've got NCAA Tournament experience, they won their league — regular season, tournament both — and they're good."

Miller and fellow freshman Rylan Griffen tied for the team-lead in points with 14 apiece, followed with 12 by Sears and 11 by Jaden Bradley. In terms of rebounding, Miller led the Crimson Tide with 13 rebounds, followed by 12 for sophomore center Charles Bediako, 11 for freshman Noah Clowney and 10 for Sears.

While Alabama out-rebounded Longwood by an impressive margin of 67-38, the game wasn't all positive for the Crimson Tide. Alabama recorded a total of 19 turnovers, resulting in 11 points for the Lancers. Additionally, the Crimson Tide hit just 3-for28 shots from 3-point territory for an abysmal 10.7 percent.

While it wasn't a perfect victory for Alabama, Oats is still very pleased with the results for it being the team's first game of the season.

"Our defense was good," Oats said. "I think you could tell we're going to be much-improved defensively with some more length and size out there. [...] I'm really happy with the effort and the defense for game one."

How it Happened:

Second Half

  • Final: Alabama 75, Longwood 54
Screenshot 2022-11-07 at 9.41.39 PM
  • The Alabama student section now all has their car keys out, waving at the Lancers. It's almost time to head home as Oats subs in his bench.
  • Sears drains a 3-pointer, which is just the third of the game for Alabama. Miller then gets a putback dunk on the next Crimson Tide possession, and the Alabama faithful rise to their feet to cheer.
  • A monster dunk by Bediako gives Alabama 68, followed by a jumper by Miller to make it 70-48 Crimson Tide with 2:32 to go.
  • For the third-straight possession, Alabama is fouled on the way to making a basket, this time Bradley. Bradley also misses the and-1. 64-46 Alabama at the under-4 media timeout.
  • Bradley is fouled on a layup and hits the and-1. 60-42 Crimson Tide at the 5:00 mark. On the next Alabama possession, Bediako is fouled after a layup of his own but misses the and-1. 62-44 Alabama.
  • Miller has 10 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Clowney has 9 points and nine rebounds, while Sears has 9 points and six rebounds.
  • At the under-8 media timeout, Alabama is shooting 41 percent from the floor, but just 10 percent (2-for-21) from beyond the arc. Alabama has turned the ball over 18 times, resulting in 9 points for the Lancers. One solid category lead for the Crimson Tide is rebounding, which Alabama leads 51-30.
  • Longwood is now in the bonus as Bradley picks up his second personal. However, D'Avian Houston misses both free throws. 54-38 Alabama at the 8:32 mark.
  • Now in the bonus, Sears hits two more free throws for Alabama. Napper hits a jumper on the opposite end for Longwood.
  • Miller hits two free throws to extend the lead back to 17 points.
  • The Crimson Tide is now two of its last 10 from the floor. Meanwhile, The Lancers have hit 2-of-4 free throws to cut two points off of the Alabama lead. 48-33 at the 11:16 mark.
  • At the under-12 media timeout, Alabama has pulled out to a 48-31 lead.
  • Burnett is fouled on the way up, but makes the layup. Burnett misses the and-1 opportunity. The Lancers have six team fouls compared to four for the Crimson Tide.
  • Bradley now has 4 points after a layup.
  • Alabama is now 0 for its last 6 for a scoring drought of 2:20, but its defense is still keeping the lead solid. Two free throws by Bradley snaps the streak and gives the Crimson Tide a 44-29 lead at the 14:00 mark.
  • At the under-16 media timeout the score remains the same after a shot-clock violation turns the ball over to Alabama. The Crimson Tide will have the basketball after the break.
  • Clowney drains a 3, and the crowd erupts. Longwood calls a timeout. The Crimson Tide has now hit three shots in a row. 42-27 Alabama at the 16:31 mark.
  • Bediako picks up his second personal, Alabama's second of the second half. Watson steps up to the line for Longwood and goes 1-for-2. 37-27 Alabama.
  • Alabama finally gets on the board in the second half with a free throw by Griffen. He misses his second. 35-26 Crimson Tide at the 18:09 mark.
  • Griffen is subbed in to replace Burnett after a turnover within the first 60 seconds.
  • Longwood gets the ball to start the second half.

Halftime Notes

  • At halftime, Griffen leads Alabama with 9 points, followed closely by Miler with eight. Pringle, Sears, Bediako and Clowney are all tied for third with 4 points, while Burnett is the final Crimson Tide player to have scored with 1 point.
  • Miller already has an impressive eight rebounds, with Clowney right behind him with seven. Pringle places third with four rebounds.
  • Through the first 20 minutes, Alabama is dominating the boards 32-15, with 24 of those rebounds coming on the defensive end of the court. The Crimson Tide is also owning the paint, outscoring the Lancers 26-8 in that area of the court.
  • One glaring shortcoming so far has been turnovers. Alabama has 12 so far in the game, which have resulted in 9 points for Longwood.

First Half

  • Halftime: Alabama 34, Longwood 26
Screenshot 2022-11-07 at 8.27.31 PM
  • Another three by Wilkins for the Lancers is followed up by a turnover by Miller. The turnover results in a missed layup, then Miles misses a 3-pointer at the end of regulation. Miles took a hard tumble after being knocked around by Christmas on the follow-through. However, the buzzer sounds and it is halftime in Tuscaloosa.
  • An 8-0 run cut the Alabama lead to just 8, but a layup and a dunk by Pringle end the run. 34-23 Crimson tide with just over one minute left to play in the first half.
  • Another three by Granlund cuts the Crimson Tide lead to 10. 30-20 at the 3:04 mark.
  • At the 3:43 mark, Alabama is now out in front 30-17. The turnovers have kept coming for the Crimson Tide, including three by Burnett. However, Alabama's defense has kept them solidly in the lead.
  • Two free throws by Spears add 2 points to the Alabama lead.
  • The honor of the first 3-pointer of the season for the Crimson Tide goes to Rylan Griffen. A 7-0 run increases Alabama's lead to 26-12 at the under-8 media timeout.
  • Alabama is now up to a 19-12 lead at the under-12 timeout. The Crimson Tide is dominating the boards, 19-8 at the break. However, Alabama has also turned the ball over six times, resulting in three points for Longwood.
  • A short jumper by Miller gives the Crimson Tide 2. The Lancers respond with a layup. 15-7 Alabama.
  • At the under-12 media timeout, Alabama's lockdown defense has continued. Since the last timeout, the Crimson Tide have only surrendered 2 points. Both points were free throws by Napper. 13-5 Alabama, who will also have possession on the other side.
  • Darius Miles has been on the court for one minute and has recorded his first personal foul of the game. Nate Oats is less than happy on the side of the court.
  • Nimari Burnett drains one of his two free throws. 9-3 Alabama.
  • At the first media timeout, a 6-0 run by the Crimson Tide has it firmly ahead. Miller leads the way with his four points, but four total rebounds by the freshman are equally impressive. Clowney also has two rebounds of his own.
  • Miller drives to the basket for a layup. Alabama extends its lead to 8-3.
  • A dunk by Clowney is good as he was fouled on the way up to the basket. Clowney misses the and-1. 6-3 Crimson Tide at the 17:03 mark.
  • Bediako goes for the two-handed slam, and Alabama takes a 4-3 lead.
  • A layup by Brandon Miller is the first points of the season for the Crimson Tide. Get used to seeing that name. The Lancers respond with a 3-pointer to gain a 3-2 lead.
  • Bediako wins the opening tip, and we are underway here inside Coleman Coliseum.

Pregame

  • Alabama's starting five: Mark Sears, Nimari Burnett, Brandon Miller, Noah Clowney and Charles Bediako.
  • Officials for tonight's game: Bart Lenox, John Hampton and R.B. Clyburn.
  • Guard Dom Welch is not warming up and will not participate in tonight's game against the Lancers.
  • Charlie Wilson, an Alabama basketball manager who passed away over the summer, will be honored during tonight's game as well as on the players' jerseys with a commemorative patch:
  • Tonight marks the beginning of the 110th season of Alabama men's basketball:
  • If you're wanting to take a visit to the concession stands inside Coleman Coliseum, be sure to take out a second mortgage before coming:
  • Tonight's game is slated for a 7:30 p.m. CT tipoff.

Need tickets to Alabama basketball's upcoming games? Check out SI Tickets.

Published
Joey Blackwell
JOEY BLACKWELL

Joey Blackwell is an award-winning journalist and assistant editor for BamaCentral and has covered the Crimson Tide since 2018. He primarily covers Alabama football, men's basketball and baseball, but also covers a wide variety of other sports. Joey earned his bachelor's degree in History from Birmingham-Southern College in 2014 before graduating summa cum laude from the University of Alabama in 2020 with a degree in News Media. He has also been featured in a variety of college football magazines, including Lindy's Sports and BamaTime.

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