No. 4 Alabama piles up points, cruises past Vanderbilt

Field Level Media|published: Tue 21st January, 21:42 2025

Jan 21, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide forward Mouhamed Dioubate (10) drives the ball against Vanderbilt Commodores guard Jason Edwards (1) during the first half at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Will McLelland-Imagn Images

Fourth-ranked Alabama got 22 points each from Aden Holloway and Mouhamed Dioubate in a 103-87 win over Vanderbilt on Tuesday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Dioubate, a sophomore, registered a career high in points and had his second career double-double as he added 10 rebounds.

Mark Sears scored 21 points and dished out seven assists while Grant Nelson and Jarin Stevenson added 10 points each for the Crimson Tide (16-3, 5-1 Southeastern Conference).

Alabama outshot Vanderbilt 56.3 percent to 38.8 percent from the floor and led for the game's final 34:05. The margin never dipped below eight points in the second half.

Vanderbilt's Devin McGlockton had 10 points and 14 rebounds for his fourth double-double this season. Jason Edwards scored 21 points, Tyler Nickel 19, AJ Hoggard 11 and MJ Collins Jr. 10 for the Commodores (15-4, 3-3).

It was Vanderbilt's most lopsided loss this season and the sixth time Alabama eclipsed 100 points in the campaign.

Vanderbilt cut into what had been a 19-point lead when Nickel canned three 3-pointers in the first 2:53 of the second half, the last making it 53-42.

However, the nation's highest-scoring offense then went on a spurt that included two treys from Chris Youngblood, the second giving the Crimson Tide a 67-45 advantage (their biggest of the night) with 12:22 remaining.

McGlockton picked up his fourth foul with 10:30 to play and his team trailing by 18, putting a dent in Vanderbilt's comeback hopes, though the Commodores did get within 91-83 on a Hoggard 3-pointer with 2:54 let.

Holloway, who hit all six of his first-half field-goal attempts and both his free throws, led all scorers with 16 at the break. Alabama shot 58.1 percent from the floor before halftime and led 48-31.

Vanderbilt had a miserable-shooting first half due to repeated misfires from 3-point range (1 of 7) and issues inside with a considerably taller Crimson Tide team (11 of 29 on 2-point attempts, four Alabama blocks).

The lead stretched over double digits for the first time when Nelson drove on Nickel for a layup, making it 22-11, before Hoggard answered with a jumper on the other end to snap a 20-4 run.

Sears surpassed 2,500 career points with a first-half field goal.

--Field Level Media

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