Bama Central

Newcomers Shine as Alabama Basketball Rolls to Season-Opening Win

Grant Nelson and Aaron Estrada led the way in a blowout victory for the Tide.

Katie Windham

In this story:

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. —  Seven seconds into the game, Aaron Estrada hit a 3-pointer, and you could just tell it was going to be one of those nights for Alabama basketball.

The 24th-ranked Crimson Tide rolled to a 105-73 victory over Morehead State inside Coleman Coliseum for the season opener Monday night behind 24 points from Grant Nelson and 16 points from Estrada.

"We've got different pieces you were able to see some of them tonight play well," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said after the game. "As a collective whole, I was really happy with our effort."

Alabama may only be turning three players from last year’s SEC Championship team, but the Tide picked up where it left off last season. Despite all the new faces, Alabama looked like a veteran team. And that was part of the way Nate Oats reconstructed his roster with four transfers.

"Nate did an unbelievable job with so many new players, I think 10 new players this year and still able to stick to their identity and how they want to play," Morehead State head coach Preston Spradlin said after the game.

Two of those transfers, Estrada and Nelson, were as good as advertised, and senior Mark Sears appears to have seamlessly slid into the leadership role on a team filled with newcomers. Sears finished with 13 points and led the team with 5 assists. 

"It definitely felt different from last year, especially with the new team," Sears said. "But Coach Oats did a great job in bringing in great guys, and we've got a great group. They're very fun to play with. We're very exciting to be around."

Nelson had two thunderous one-handed dunks that brought the Coleman crowd to its feet while also making two 3-pointers and shooting a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. 

On the freshman front, Jarin Stevenson really played well in the second half, scoring 10 of his 12 points after the break. 

Alabama got off to a quick start on offense, making its first seven field goals. The Tide wouldn’t keep up quite that pace for the whole game, but finished a respectable 56 percent from the floor and 43 percent from beyond the arc.

The success on offense didn’t cause a decline in effort on the defensive end. Alabama was playing with the blue-collar effort that Oats has built his brand around. The Tide forced 15 turnovers and grabbed 14 offensive rebounds. 

With the large lead from the start, Oats was able to play around with lineups. All 11 scholarship guys that were available (freshman Kris Parker was out with an eye injury), saw playing time. And all 11 guys scored.

And to the delight of the energetic Coleman Crowd and Alabama bench, Crimson Tide walk-ons Max Scharnowski and Kai Spears entered in the final two minutes, and Spears hit two free throws to also enter the scoring column. It capped a successful day at the free throw line where Alabama made 31 of 38 shots. 

Alabama opens up 1-0 for the fourth straight season and will host Indiana State Friday night at 7 p.m.

Final stats vs. Morehead State
Final stats / Statbroadcast

How it happened...

(latest updates at the top)

Second Half

  • 2:08- Walk-ons Max Scharnowski and Kai Spears check into the game as Alabama crosses the century mark, leading 101-71.
  • Timeout Morehead State: Alabama 95, Morehead State 65- 4:30 2H
  • Nelson is now up to 22 points for the Tide. 
  • Another monster one-handed slam from Nelson. This one puts Alabama up 87-64
  • Under-8 media timeout: Alabama 83, Morehead State 61- 7:26 2H
  • Morehead State is on an 8-0 run over the last 1:30, cut the deficit back down to 20 points at 81-61
  • After a lengthy review, a dead ball technical foul is issued to Nick Pringle. 
  • Alabama 81, Morehead State 53- 9:23 2H
  • With that free throw from Dioubate, every Alabama player that has seen the court has now scored tonight. 
  • Under-12 timeout: Alabama 74, Morehead State 50- 11:58 2H
  • After 20 straight makes, Alabama finally misses a free throw. However, the Crimson Tide still holds a 24-point lead
  • Make that 10 points in the second half for Stevenson. Alabama lead is now up to 71-47, 14:18 2H
  • Stevenson has 8 of Alabama's 14 points to open the second half. 
  • Under-16 timeout: Alabama 67, Morehead State 45- 15:51 2H
  • Stevenson heating up in the second half. He's now made back-to-back 3-point attempts as Alabama pushes the lead to 65-43. 
  • Brandon Miller is sitting courtside right next to the end of the Alabama bench for the second half. 
  • Alley-oop from Griffen to Pringle opens up the Crimson Tide scoring in the second half, Alabama leads 57-38
  • Alabama has the original starting five out on the floor to start the second half. Pringle only played seven minutes in the first half though after grabbing a pair of fouls. 

Halftime notes

Alabama vs. Morehead State halftime stats
Halftime stats: Alabama 55, Morehead State 35 / Statbroadcast
  • Aaron Estrada leads all scorers with 14 points. 
  • Alabama was perfect (13-of-13) from the free throw line in the first half. 
  • Ten of Alabama's 11 players that saw the floor in the first half scored. 
  • Alabama forced 10 Morehead State turnovers, but also got a little turnover happy themselves towards the end of the half. 
  • The new Crimson Chaos and BamaCentral's own Blue Collar Unplugged host Jacob Pickle is presented with his plaid jacket at halftime. 

First Half

  • HALFTIME: Alabama 55, Morehead State 33
  • Under-4 timeout: Alabama 53, Morehead State 33- 1:40 1H
  • The shooting has cooled off for Alabama over the last few minutes, but Alabama still holds a 20-point lead.
  • Sam Walters cleans up a miss with a layup for his first career points. Alabama leads 51-27
  • Griffen finally gets on the board with a 3-pointer. Alabama has almost hit the 50-point mark with still more than five minutes left in the first half. 
  • Alabama forces a shot clock violation on defense, and Nate Oats is loving it. Alabama up 46-23 with 6:15 left
  • Under-8 timeout: Alabama 42, Morehead State 20- 7:55 1H
  • First basket of the season for Davin Cosby is a 3-pointer that puts Alabama up 42-19 with just over eight minutes to go.
  • Eleven different Alabama players have seen playing time, but only five have scored. It's basically been the Sears, Estrada and Nelson show so far. 
  • Nelson is now up to 11 points after his latest 3-pointer. 
  • Under- 12 timeout: Alabama 31, Morehead State 13- 11:25 1H
  • Nelson finally gets a 3-point show to fall. Pushes the Alabama lead to 31-13 
  • Less than eight minutes into the half, Alabama has already played all the scholarship players available tonight. Alabama currently leads 28-13 with 12:09 to go
  • That's about as crazy of a 3-point shot as you'll see from Wrightsell there. He shot it from behind the goal with the shot clock expiring to put Alabama ahead 23-7. Everything is falling right now for the Crimson Tide. 
  • Sam Walters and Mohamed Wague check in for Alabama after the timeout. Definitely lots of new faces to get used to.
  • At the under-16 media timeout: Alabama 17, Morehead State 5
    • Alabama is 7 of 9 from the floor with four assists. 
    • Estrada leads all scorers with 7 points
  • Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Jarin Stevenson are the first players off the bench for the Crimson Tide as Alabama leads 17-5. 
  • Not a super big crowd at Coleman, but it's an enthusiastic one in the early going. 
  • Morehead State finally gets on the board with a 3-pointer from Lathon, 14-3 Alabama.
  • Long jumper from Estrada pushes the Alabama lead to 9-0 and forces a timeout from Morehead State. 
  • A one-handed slam from Grant Nelson gets the crowd fired up and gives Alabama a 5-0 lead
  • Aaron Estrada gets the first points of the season with a 3-pointer. Alabama leads 3-0
  • Alabama wins the opening tip, and this game is underway. 

Pregame

Starting lineups:

Starting lineups
Starting lineups / Statbroadcast
  • Tonight's officials: Tony Greene, Jason Baker and Lucas Santos.
  • New red lights featured in Coleman Coliseum like there are in Bryant-Denny Stadium. 
  • Senior guard Mark Sears, who missed both scrimmages with an injury, is warming up with no issues in the pregame.
  • Alabama freshman Kris Parker is not available for this game with an eye abrasion, as first reported by Jeff Goodman.
Published
Katie Windham
KATIE WINDHAM

Katie Windham is the assistant editor for BamaCentral, primarily covering football, basketball gymnastics and softball. She is a two-time graduate of the University of Alabama and has covered a variety of Crimson Tide athletics since 2019 for outlets like The Tuscaloosa News, The Crimson White and the Associated Press before joining BamaCentral full time in 2021. Windham has covered College Football Playoff games, the Women's College World Series, NCAA March Madness, SEC Tournaments and championships in multiple sports. 

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