Alabama basketball bounces Wake Forest in Birmingham exhibition

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – No. 2 Alabama blitzed Wake Forest, 98-77, in a charity exhibition on Friday at Boutwell Auditorium. The Crimson Tide made 19 threes on 46 attempts and out-rebounded the Demon Deacons, 44-35, in front of an intimate but rowdy crowd of 2,068.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Wake Forest opened the scoring with a pair of free throws, but Alabama scored eight straight with Mark Sears accounting for the Tide’s first five points of the game. The Demon Deacons regained the lead, 16-15, thanks to a 7-0 run before Houston Mallette countered with a three. Alabama then opened the gap, 31-23, with a 9-0 streak fueled by Mouhamed Diobuate, who tallied a dunk and 3-pointer. Following a Wake layup, UA scored five more to take its first double-digit lead of the night. Aden Hollway capped the first half by knocking down the Crimson Tide’s eighth three of the first half as Alabama led 46-38 at intermission.

Sears hit a pair of threes in the first four minutes of the second half, but Wake Forest trimmed the UA lead to four points with 15 minutes left on the clock. From there, however, the Crimson Tide scored seven straight, and Dioubate once again led the charge. Leading 60-53 out of the second media timeout, Sears knocked down his fourth 3-pointer. Mallette and Holloway followed with their second triples to push the Alabama advantage to 15 points.

The Tide didn’t stop there, though. Holloway, Mallette and true freshman guard Labaron Philon combined to knock down six threes in the final seven minutes, with Holloway catching fire late for Alabama. Holloway was responsible for 11 of the Crimson Tide’s final 22 points. UA’s lead ballooned to as many as 26 points in the final half as Alabama impressed in its first game outing against another squad – one picked to finish third in the ACC.

PLAYERS OF THE GAME

Holloway paced Alabama with a game-high 20 points. The Auburn transfer also led the team with five made 3-pointers on 12 attempts. Sears finished a close second with 19 points on four made triples. Four other Crimson Tide players scored in double figures, including Philon (13 points), Dioubate, Jarin Stevenson and Derrion Reid, who contributed 10 points apiece. Philon, Mallette and Stevenson also made multiple 3-pointers in the game. Stevenson and Clifford Omoruyi tied for the team lead in rebounds with six, while Omoruyi and Reid each had a pair of blocks as Alabama’s overall rim protection was better on Friday (6-1).

FINAL EXHIBITION STATS

Final: Alabama 98, Wake Forest 77

Impressive night at Boutwell. pic.twitter.com/WPhbU7Y9JM

— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) October 19, 2024

QUOTE FROM OATS

“It was good to get this group out together for the first time. We didn’t have four of our guys, but I thought we had enough of them to kind of see how we wanna play. I thought the defensive intensity was better than what we had seen at points last year. I thought it had some lapses. But I thought the play Sears made – he kind of stood the guy up, got a steal and then they fouled him getting out. I thought the play Derrion Reid made with the block, the save and then we get the block on the other end. Those effort plays are what we’re trying to be about.

“We got a few threes up. We got 46 of them up. I think that’s – we’re trying to play fast, open, take threes. I think you see how well Holloway can shoot it. Some of these guys get their feet under them and get comfortable, we’ve got a chance to put some points up. But I was more pleased with our defense, our rebounding and our effort. But it’ll get better, and we’ll continue to get better with some of that stuff.”

TID(E)BITS

– Nate Oats presented former Alabama guard Davin Cosby his Final Four ring before the exhibition tipped. Cosby entered the portal this offseason and transferred to Wake Forest.

– Alabama was without four scholarship players on Friday night. Grant Nelson, Aiden Sherrell, Latrell Wrightsell and Chris Youngblood were all in street clothes. Youngblood is expected to be out until December, but injuries for the other three are not serious.

– The Tide’s starting five consisted of Labaron Philon, Mark Sears, Houston Mallette, Jarin Stevenson and Clifford Omoruyi. Two returners, two transfers and one true freshman.

*** What’s next: Alabama will play a second exhibition on Monday, Oct. 28. The Tide’s last preseason tuneup will be against Memphis in Huntsville, Alabama (7 p.m. on ESPN+).

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