Alabama Basketball Back On Track By Beating Eastern Kentucky

It was raining 3-pointers in Coleman Coliseum as the Crimson Tide got back into the winning column.

The Alabama Crimson Tide welcomed Eastern Kentucky into Coleman Coliseum on Saturday and got a much needed victory.

The Crimson Tide was able to stop a three-game losing streak and beat the Colonels 111-67.

It was essentially a first half knockout as Alabama managed 61 points in the first frame off 12-22 from the 3-point line to blow away their opponents.

The Crimson Tide was led by Rylan Griffen and Grant Nelson offensively as the pair combined for 38 points on 7-12 from the 3-point line.

Alabama now moves to 7-5 on the season and will look to keep the momentum going in next Saturday’s contest against Liberty in the C.M. Newton Classic.  

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The Alabama Crimson Tide is back in the friendly confines of Coleman Coliseum on Saturday afternoon as they welcome the Eastern Kentucky Colonels for their second to last non-conference game. 

Alabama is 6-5 through the first month and change of the 2023-24 season but they've played some of the the best competition in the country in multiple top ten opponents. 

The Tide welcomes the Colonels who are 4-7 and rated 253 in KenPom's analytic metrics. This serves as an opportunity for Alabama to "get right" before the SEC season begins. 

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Second Half

• 1:59 - Another make for Davin Cosby from deep and the walk-ons enter the game. Alabama 109, EKU 65. 
• 2:35 - Alabama sends the walk-ons to check in. Won't be long now before they see some action. 
• 3:21 - Alabama 102, Eastern Kentucky 65
• 3:31 - Alabama has now broken 100-points for the fourth time this season on a Davin Cosby 3-pointer. 
• 4:21 - Sam Walters with a nice sequence, grabs a one-handed rebound on the defensive side and then takes the ball to the cup on the offensive end for points. He has 12 today. 
• 5:05 - Alabama subs in Mouhamed Dioubate, all 11 scholarship players have seen action today for the Tide and I'm sure we'll see the walk-ons soon. 
• 6:18- It's been raining 3's in Coleman and Latrell Wrightsell makes another. That's his third from deep. 
• 6:51- Back-to-back 3-pointers for Davin Crosby. Alabama is now 16/35 from deep in the ball game as we have Alabama 94, EKU 60.  
• 10:00 - Alabama's certain played a lot looser in the second half. Tide hasn't shot as well and has four turnovers, but still maintains a big lead because the skill gap is too much. 
• 11:50 - Under-12 timeout. This game isn't so much about the result now as it is about the Tide finishing strong. Alabama 78, EKU 56. Alabama had a bit of a lull in the first five minutes of the half but have seemed to snap back into it. 
• 12:05 - Michael Moreno keeps cooking for the Colonels. He's 6/9 from behind the arc and has 18-points for Eastern Kentucky. 
• 12:51 - Grant Nelson works himself into an and-one situation. His made free-throw gives him 15 points. 
• 14:00 - Aaron Estrada once again hits the floor creating havoc. He's had a nice effort game even if his box score isn't stuffed full. 
• 14:36 - If Griffen's 3-pointer doesn't wake up Alabama. Mohamed Wague's and-one conversion might. Alabama 71, EKU 50
• 14:58 - A 3-pointer from Rylan Griffen may spark the Tide's second half.
• 15:41 - Alabama allowing 1.875 points per possession in the second half to the Colonels. 
• 15:59 - This team doesn't look the same at all. Completely wasted an offensive possession that ended with Mouhamed Dioubate taking a 3-pointer. Alabama 61, EKU 45. Colonels on a 13-0 run. 
• 18:10 - Nate Oats subbed in an entire new five players after giving up an 8-0 run to start the second half. 
• 18:10 - Alabama has come out of the second half allowing some easy looks and the Colonels have scored a quick 8-points. Oats calls timeout to stop the run. 19:03 - Technical foul on Nate Oats. He was hollering at the officials. 
• 19:05- Rylan Griffen continues to play strong offense as he sets up a look for Aaron Estrada. Estrada missed the 3-pointer but it was a nice look.

Halftime

The last time the Alabama Crimson Tide Basketball program scored 60 in a half was in 2021 against the Miami Hurricanes per Alabama sports information.#RollTide #BamaHoops #BlueCollarBasketball

— Joe Gaither (@JoeGaither6) December 23, 2023

First Half

• Halftime: Alabama 61, Eastern Kentucky 32
• :45 - Aaron Estrada gets on the floor defensively and it leads to a finger roll layup by Grant Nelson. Can Alabama play a strong second half and take this performance with them over the next three months?
• 1:16 - Wrightsell for 3 with an assist from Sam Walters. The Tide is ROLLING from deep. 
• 3:13 - Can Alabama bottle this up? Sam Walters drains a 3-pointer. Everyone who's taken a 3-point shot has made at least one 3-point shot. 
• 3:42 - Latrell Wrightsell makes himself a 3-pointer for his first make from deep. The Tide is 10/16 from beyond the arc, good for an absurd 63%. Alabama 49, Eastern Kentucky 25. 
• 4:26 - Mark Sears once again dances around under the rim and tries to get a sneaky layup. Instead he gets fouled and goes for two free-throws. Sears makes one to give himself 9 points for the day. 
• 5:04 - Davin Cosby comes in for Rylan Griffen and the crowd gives Griffen a big ovation. 
• 5:24 - The Tide loses possession on a jump ball tie up with Latrell Wrightsell. It's been an ok day for Alabama taking care of the basketball with just four turnovers so far though the first 15 minutes.
• 5:48 - Griffen really looking like Alabama's best player today, gets a block and a steal and gets himself fouled on the break. Playing well on both sides of the ball for the Tide as they lead 45-22. 
• 7:19 - Rylan Griffen 3-pointer. Again. That's four for the young wing and he has 14 for the Tide. 
• 8:19 -Another 3-point basket for Griffen leads to an Eastern Kentucky timeout. Alabama is leading 41-18. Griffen now leads all scorers with 11 points and is 3/4 from 3-point land. Alabama as a team is 8/11 from beyond the arc. 
• 9:04 - Rylan Griffen makes a 3-point basket against zone defense. The Colonels mixing things up on defense but Alabama is still hot. 
• 9:27 - Mohamed Wague makes a HUGE block in the lane but is called for his second foul. The Coleman crowd boos the call as it was a close one from the home crowd's view. 
• 10:00 - Leland Walker makes a 3-pointer for Eastern Kentucky. Alabama is allowing .8 points per possession so far to the Colonels. Coach Nate Oat's stated goal for the team is between .6-.7
• 10:27 - Sears is so fearless at the rim. He's diminutive but he makes another layup in traffic for Alabama. 
• 11:01 - Alabama nearly wastes a possession but finds Grant Nelson in the corner with the shot clock waining. Nelson makes his second 3-pointer of the game to give himself 8 points. 
• 11:45 - Under 12-timeout, Alabama 29, Eastern Kentucky 13. Sears, Griffen, Nelson and Walters all have five points for the Tide. 
• 12:02 - Mark Sears just put his defender on a string and got a nifty layup. He's up to 5 points for the Tide on 2/4 shooting. 
• 13:29 - Davin Cosby and Mark Sears enter the game for Alabama. Cosby gets a walking dunk down the line but had to alter his shot a missed. 
• 14:23 - Sam Walters makes himself a 3-point for Alabama and the Tide is now 5/6 from behind the line. 
• 15:16 - Aaron Estrada makes another 3-pointer for the Tide bringing the team total to 4/5 on the day. 
• 15:59 - Latrell Wrightsell is called for his first foul and we have our under-16 timeout. Alabama is up 15-7. Fun announcement in Coleman invites all the crowd to occupy seats closer to the court, the crowd is fine for the time, date and opponent, but I love this announcement. 
• 16:24 - Jarin Stevenson gives Grant Nelson a breather. 
• 16:43 - Rylan Griffen makes his first 3-point take. Tide is now 3-4 from behind the arc. 13-7. 
• 17:16 - Mohamed Wague picks up his first foul Can he avoid fouling out? Nate Oats subs in Nick Pringle in his place. 
• 17:31 - Nelson makes his first 3-point attempt off a Mark Sears pass. Tide is 2-2 from 3-point land to start. 
• 18:00 - Nelson responds to his last unsuccessful trip with a hard take at the rim and makes a layup. Alabama 7-3. 
• 18:50 - Michael Moreno makes a 3-pointer to tie the game up for Eastern Kentucky. 
• 19:00 - Grant Nelson gets his shot swatted at the rim. Not a good sign from a defender who he has a size advantage on.
• 19:45 - Mark Sears makes Alabama's first shot, a 3-pointer from the wing off an assist from Aaron Estrada. 
• 20:00 - Alabama's Mohamed Wague wins the opening tip over Eastern Kentucky's Isaiah Cozart and the game is underway. 

Pregame:

• 0:00 - Eastern Kentucky's starters are: Guard Collin Cooper, Guard Leland Walker, Wing Devontae Blanton, Forward Michael Moreno, Center Isaiah Cozart.
• 0:00 - The crowd is sparse but honestly it's a bit better than I expected. 
• 0:00 - National anthem time. 
• 1:15 - Alabama is back on the court in layup lines taking 3-pointers. We are minutes away from the national anthem and starting lineups being announced in Coleman Coliseum. 
• 4:00 - The Tide is back in the locker room and Eastern Kentucky is still in shooting lines. Alabama is favored by 24.5-points in this game. 
• 13:00 - Alabama has a special guest on-hand, 5-star signee Aiden Sherrell is in Tuscaloosa. 

5-star Alabama signee Aiden Sherrell is in the building for the game today. pic.twitter.com/jAQjq0adtJ

— Blake Byler (@blakebyler45) December 23, 2023

• 15:45 - Starters are announced. Alabama will start Mark Sears, Aaron Estrada, Rylan Griffen, Grant Nelson and Mohamed Wague. 
• 17:00 - Alabama's been back out shooting for a while, this time in a more organized fashion. The team all went through and dunked in confident fashion.
• 36:50 - Good news for Alabama today, Eastern Kentucky's tallest players are Montavious Myrick and David Onanina. Both players are listed at 6-foot-8, meaning for the first time in a few games the Tide will have the size advantage. 
• 41:22 - The Crimson Tide has gone back into the locker room and the Colonels have the court to themselves. Attendance so far is sparse in Coleman. 
• 46:34- Alabama and Eastern Kentucky are both out on the court shooting around before their non-conference clash commences. This game can be seen on SEC Network. 

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