Lynchburg, Virginia At the C.M. Newton Classic on Saturday, Latrell Wrightsell Jr. led six players in double digits with a season-high 19 points, as Alabama easily defeated Liberty 101-56.
Wrightsell scored two free throws and made six of eight field goals, including five of seven from 3-point range, to help the Crimson Tide (8-5) cross the century mark for the seventh time this year. At the institution, Nate Oats became the fastest coach to win 100 games.
Aaron Estrada added 13 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 steals to Mark Sears’ 16 points. With Sears see and Estrada having amassed more than 1,500 career points apiece, Alabama is one of just six schools with this scoring tandem at the moment. In addition to scoring 12, Grant Nelson also had three blocks. Both Sam Walters, a freshman reserve, and Rylan Griffin scored ten points.
Wrightsell scored 12 points off the bench, freshman reserve Jarin Stevenson added nine, and Alabama led 48-27 at the half after shooting 57.1% from the field. Before the half, the Crimson Tide made 16 of their 28 shots, including 9 of 15 from three-point range. They made half of their 28 shots from outside the arc and 17 of their 20 free throws at the free-throw line, improving their shooting percentage to 58.3% in the second half.
The Flames (10-4) were led by 14 points from Kaden Metheny and 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists from Zach Cleveland.
Before the game, Alabama had scored 1,066 points in its first 12 games, breaking the previous record of 1,004 established the previous season. With four of their five losses coming against teams that were ranked, the Crimson Tide entered the game averaging 92.2 points per contest.
With just 9.5 turnovers per game on average—the fourth lowest in the nation—Liberty, the preseason favorites to win Conference USA, committed just nine against Alabama. But the Flames made only 33.3% of their shots from the field and failed to make 25 of their 35 attempts from beyond the arc.
In Saturday’s Southeastern Conference opener, Alabama will travel to play Vanderbilt. When Liberty plays Boyce on Monday, they will be back home.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
