The Crimson Tide basketball team jumped out to an early lead over the Pepperdine Waves last night and never relented, rolling to a 83-60 win. Bama is now 7-6 on the season with only one game remaining before SEC play begins.
The Tide took a double-digit lead five minutes into the game and led 34-12 by the third TV timeout of the first half. The Bama defense was absolutely stifling early on, with the team racking up 10 blocks and 9 steals. Those stops led to plenty of transition opportunities, and Pepperdine seemed helpless to slow down Bama in the open court. The first half turned into a dunk-fest for the Tide with plenty of highlight reel material.
Meanwhile, JaMychal Green continued to play like an All-SEC player, seemingly scoring at will in the first half. His stat line of 23 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals on 75% shooting speaks for itself. I don't know what's gotten into Green since his suspension, but we can only hope that he continues to play like this through the SEC season.
Chris Hines recorded his first career double-double by scoring 10 points and snarling up a game-high 11 rebounds. He may lack scoring touch on the offensive end, but he's becoming a force on defense and on the boards. Tony Mitchell had another night where he made plays all over, with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Senario Hillman, coming off the bench once again, hit double figures with 10 points and 3 rebounds, and Charvez Davis continued to light it up shooting inside Coleman Coliseum, where he's hitting over 50% of his 3-point attempts on the season. He hit 5-of-10 from deep last night for 15 points. Trevor Releford only scored 5 points, but he added 6 assists with no turnovers and 3 steals--numbers most won't complain about for a freshman point guard.
Despite mid-major opposition, Bama has been very impressive in both of its last two games, a very encouraging sign as the team prepares for the SEC opener on January 8th in Starkville.
The Tide's last non-conference game will come on Monday night against a struggling Toledo team, giving Bama a great chance to finish up a perfect 8-0 at home for the non-conference slate.