Fourth-seeded Alabama blows by Charleston 109-96 in first-round game at the Arena

Alabama entered the NCAA Tournament boasting the No. 1 scoring offense in the nation (90.8 points per game).

In their tourney opener, the Crimson Tide’s prolific offense showed out.

Paced by its super-scoring All-American guard, fourth-seeded Alabama looked unstoppable on the offensive end for most of Friday’s first-round game at the Arena. The Tide piled up scoring highlights aplenty and rolled to a 109-96 win over No. 13 seed Charleston.

Alabama (22-11) played an entertaining, up-tempo style of offense, and the Cougars (27-8) couldn’t keep up. The Crimson Tide shared the ball with quick passes, leading to open 3s – most of which found their mark. Alabama’s guards slashed through the paint for easy layups. The Tide’s forwards threw down several alley-oop dunks.

“We like to play fast,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “We attacked them.”

Alabama led comfortably throughout the second half. The Tide took a 31-point lead with about 8 minutes to play.

Alabama set a program record for points in an NCAA tourney game. The Tide also set an SEC record with their 10th 100-point game of the season.

Star Alabama guard Mark Sears, one of the top scorers in the nation, led all players with 30 points and added five assists. Charleston’s defenders struggled to contain Sears when he drove inside, and the senior hit a few long-range 3-pointers for good measure. Sears shot 9 of 13 from the field, 3 of 6 on 3-pointers and 9 of 11 from the foul line.

“All of us can handle, all of us can shoot,” Sears said. “With how fast we play, it makes the game very easy.”

Sears’ teammates were quite efficient, too. Alabama shot 60% from the floor and 13 of 23 (56.5%) on 3-pointers. Guards Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Aaron Estrada added 17 and 13 points, respectively. Wrightsell went 5 of 6 on 3-pointers. Estrada doled out eight assists.

The game was tightly contested for about 15 minutes, then Sears sparked a 10-0 run and Alabama led by double digits for the final 23 minutes.

The Cougars shot 41% from the field.

Usually one of the nation’s best 3-point-shooting teams, Charleston shot 10 of 33 – 2 of 15 in the first half. Forward Ben Burnham led Charleston with 19 points.