Sears Shines, No. 22 Alabama Basketball Defeats Mercer 98-67

Behind a 24-point performance from Mark Sears, the Crimson Tide moved to 4-0 on the season.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— On Friday night, No. 22 Alabama defeated Mercer 98-67 behind an impressively efficient offensive output — shooting 59% from the field and 42% from three-point range.

Early on, it felt as if things might get out of hand inside Coleman Coliseum as the Crimson Tide jumped out to a 13-3 lead over the first four minutes of play.

It didn’t get much easier for the Bears. In fact, it got much worse.

Possession after possession, Alabama flexed its offensive muscles — with point guard Mark Sears leading the way in the first half for the Crimson Tide with 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field.

Sears, who was a preseason second-team All-SEC selection, couldn’t be contained by the Mercer defense, appearing to be a step faster than any guard the Bears put in front of him and cutting towards the basket with ease using an array of dribble moves and top-of-the-key screens — finishing with 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting.

In the frontcourt, it was a productive first half for freshman forward Jarin Stevenson, who tallied eight points on 3-for-3 shooting — drilling both of his three-point attempts in nine minutes played.

As the half concluded, Sears wowed the crowd — running down the full length of the court from the opposing baseline with 4.3 seconds to convert a flashy, off-balance layup as time expired.

The second half moved at a much slower pace, with the Crimson Tide’s blistering start slowing down ever so slightly.

Still, it was tough sledding for Mercer on the offensive end, as Alabama held the Bears to 39% (25-for-63) shooting from the field – using their size and quickness to stifle Greg Gary’s offense.

Leading the charge in the second half for Alabama was forward Nick Pringle, who threw down a trio of dunks en route to a 14-point performance on 7-for-8 shooting.

This was his best game he's played for us," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. "He ended up winning the Hard Hat."

Pringle, who had been the subject of intense criticism from Oats, has now posted back-to-back games with 12+ points and 5+ rebounds after posting 12 points and seven rebounds versus South Alabama on Tuesday.

"I didn't think we did a good job at playing like we were supposed to the full 20 minutes of the second half," Oats said. 

Now standing at 4-0, Oats and company will turn their attention towards a matchup with Chris Holtmann’s Ohio State Buckeyes coming on Nov. 24 at the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla.

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Second Half:

• FINAL: Alabama, 98 | Mercer, 67, 0:00 2H
• The walk-ons are in for Alabama, and Mercer goes on a quick run. Alabama's streak of scoring 100+ points in three-straight games is in danger. 
• Wrightsell Jr. drills a three, Alabama gets another defensive stop. Alabama: 93 | Mercer: 59, 3:04 2H
• Estrada is now into double-digits after a slow start. He's up to 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting.
• TV timeout. Alabama: 81 | Mercer: 51, 7:18 2H
• Alabama is now in the double-bonus. 
• Pringle is heating up. He's up to 12 points on 6-for-6 shooting from the field and just threw down an alley-oop from Sears.
• Wrightsell Jr. finds Pringle for the dunk. Timeout on the floor. Alabama: 73 | Mercer: 43, 10:36 2H
• The Alabama crowd is chanting "bald" anytime Mercer guard Caleb Hunter touches the ball.
• Estrada gets a bucket. TV timeout. Alabama: 71 | Mercer: 43, 12:03 2H
• Mercer is 3-for-3 from the field over the last three minutes. Oats is not happy with the defensive effort. Bench rotation checks in. 
• Nelson picks up a foul. Timeout on the floor. Alabama: 62 | Mercer: 35, 15:43 2H
• Griffen gets a quick bucket for the Crimson Tide. Mercer is up to four team fouls. 

Halftime:

StatBroadcast / StatBroadcast

First Half: 

• HALFTIME: Alabama: 54 | Mercer: 29, 0:00 1H
• Sears flies down the court with 4.3 seconds remaining in the half and finishes a tough basket with his left hand at the buzzer. Play was under review, but confirmed. Impressive. 
• Davin Cosby Jr. drills his first three of the game. He's fouled on the next possession, drills both free throws. 10-0 run for Alabama. 20 seconds left in the half.
• Sears drills a three of his own. Alabama is on fire. 22-for-28 from the field, 6-for-8 from three. 
• Stevenson buries another three. He's up to 8pts on 3-for-3 (2-for-2 3pt) shooting.
• TV timeout. Alabama currently has four players of 6-foot-10+ on the floor. Alabama: 42 | Mercer: 25, 3:47 1H
• Sam Walters gets a tough basket and converts the and-one. 
• Sears gets a breather. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. checks in.
• Timeout Mercer. Alabama: 35 | Mercer: 18, 7:16 1H
• Pringle can't convert the and-one. 
• Pringle gets the bucket and is fouled. He'll look to convert the and-one when we return. Alabama: 35 | Mercer: 18, 7:43 1H
• Griffen buries a three. He's up to 5 points on 2-for-2 shooting.
• Nelson picks up his first foul. Fifth team foul for Alabama. 
• Estrada picks up his third foul. He checks out of the game. 
• Stevenson drills a three. Sears on the assist. Timeout on the floor. Alabama: 26 | Mercer: 13, 11:27 1H
• First basket of the game for Jarin Stevenson, who checked in for Nick Pringle. 
• Mark Sears is 5-6 from the field with 10pts here early on vs. Mercer. Also had some active hands on defense. He looks incredibly comfortable within Nate Oats' offense in year two.
• TV timeout. Alabama just forced a shot clock violation on an airball. Great defense by Grant Nelson and company. Alabama: 15 | Mercer: 4, 15:24 1H
• Estrada picks up his second foul of the game. Mercer only capitalizes on one of two shots at the stripe. They've had some trouble at the line early. 
• Sears gets a bucket down low, Nelson gets downhill for a layup, Sears lays in another. Timeout Mercer. Alabama: 13 | Mercer: 3, 16:43 1H
• Estrada finds Pringle for the dunk. Crowd gets excited. 
• Grant Nelson drains a three, his first of the game and first for either team.
• Estrada gets the first bucket of the game for Alabama.

Pregame:

• Starting Five: Mark Sears, Aaron Estrada, Rylan Griffen, Grant Nelson and Nick Pringle.
• Sam Walters has thrown down a pair of nasty between-the-legs dunks in warmups.
• 20 minutes until tipoff here in Coleman Coliseum. Crowd is relatively sparse.
• Rylan Griffen is the first player out for warmups.

How to Watch: No. 22 Alabama vs. Mercer

Who: No. 22 Alabama (4-0, 0-0) vs. Mercer (1-2, 0-0)

When: Friday | 7:00 p.m. CT

Where: Coleman Coliseum | Tuscaloosa, Ala.

TV: SECNetwork+

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network: Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Bryan Passink

Last time out, Alabama: 102-64 victory over South Alabama

Last time out, Mercer: 74-64 loss to Morehead State

Series: Alabama leads 8-2

Davin Cosby Jr. Thankful Nate Oats Called Out his Defensive Effort