TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Mark Sears scored 22 points, freshman Brandon Miller added 20 and No. 20 Alabama beat Liberty 95-59 on Friday night.
Alabama (2-0) led by nine at the break and broke away by scoring 11 straight points during a 17-2 run early in the second half.
Liberty’s Darius McGhee, second in the nation in scoring last season at 24.6 points per game, was held to eight on 3-for-11 shooting, including 1 of 5 on 3-pointers.
This was the most-lopsided nonconference loss by Liberty (1-1) since it fell to Indiana 87-48 on Nov. 19, 2016.
Sears made 8 of his first 11 shots and had eight rebounds and four assists. Miller hit 4 of 5 on 3s and also had eight rebounds.
Rylan Griffen scored 16 points and fellow freshman Jaden Bradley had 10 for the Crimson Tide.
Shiloh Robinson had 11 points for Liberty and Brody Peebles added 10.
BIG PICTURE
After shooting just 10.7% (3 of 28) from 3-point territory in the season debut against Longwood, the Crimson Tide did much better against Liberty, making 10 of 22 (45.5%). Alabama led the nation in 3-point attempts in the 2020-21 season and was in the top 10 last season, with no signs of cutting down its attempts in 2022-23.
Alabama’s 3-point shooting success stands to be a decent predictor of its overall success, and seeing a drastic improvement was important.
UP NEXT
Liberty: Returns home to play North Carolina Central on Monday night.
Alabama: Plays a rare in-state, nonconference road game at South Alabama on Tuesday.
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