The Alabama Crimson Tide sure looked ready for SEC play Sunday afternoon at Coleman Coliseum.
In the fifth-ranked Crimson Tide’s final tuneup in nonconference play, Alabama used a 30-9 first-half run for a big halftime lead en route to a 105-82 victory over the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.
Alabama (11-2 overall) reached the 100-point margin for the third time this season and held a 57-33 lead at halftime. The Crimson Tide got their first points on a 3-pointer from Grant Nelson just over a minute into the game. Nelson converted his first two treys of the afternoon while scoring the first eight points for Alabama.
Two first-year players on Alabama’s roster led the way Sunday: Auburn transfer Aden Holloway and freshman Labaron Philon.
When Holloway’s 3-pointer found the net with 14:23 to play, the Tide had made four of their first 10 shots from downtown for a 16-9 lead. Another 3-pointer from Holloway ended a two-and-a-half minute scoring drought.
Holloway struck again for his third 3-pointer, and Chris Youngblood sank one from the top of the key to lift Alabama to a 29-17 lead. Holloway had four three-pointers in the first 12-plus minutes as Alabama’s lead swelled to 40-17. The Crimson Tide closed the first half with a pair of 3-pointers in the final 90 seconds from Mark Sears.
Alabama made 12-of-29 three-point shots in the first half and shot 41.5 percent from the field.
In the second half, South Dakota State opened with a 7-0 run in the first 2:24 and trimmed the lead to 14 at one point before Holloway gave Alabama a much-needed basket from downtown that made it 75-56 with inside of 11 minutes to play in the game.
The Tide would lead by as many as 27 after Sears made a pull-up 3-pointer with six minutes to play. Holloway’s eighth 3-pointer with 3:07 to go pushed Alabama over 100 points. He tacked on one more from downtown to finish with a career-high 26 points.
Philon also had a career day with 21 points on 8-of-14 shots from the field, and Sears finished with 20 points. Nelson had 17 points to give the Tide four players in double figures.
Alabama shot 47 percent from the field and made 19 shots from behind the arc in the win over South Dakota State (9-6).
Alabama 2025 schedule
Alabama will open SEC play next Saturday at Coleman Coliseum against the No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners (13-0). Oklahoma defeated Prairie View A&M Sunday, 89-67. Tipoff for Alabama vs. OU is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT. The game can be seen on SEC Network.
Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Alabama news and notes, plus opinions.