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Grant Nelson scored 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting and Mark Sears added 15 points, leading No. 2 Alabama over McNeese State, 72-64, on Monday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Nelson put the Crimson Tide (3-0) ahead for good with 10:32 remaining in the first half, draining a 3-pointer that gave them a 16-14 lead.

McNeese (1-2) got out to an early lead in the first nine-plus minutes of action and started the game 6-for-9 from the field while Alabama went without a field goal for 5:51 after its first basket.

Latrell Wrightsell Jr. scored 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting for Alabama, while Labaron Philon chipped in eight points. Clifford Omoruyi was held to four points but complemented Nelson’s eight boards with seven of his own.

Sincere Parker led McNeese State with 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Alyn Breed added 17 points, but Javohn Garcia, the Cowboys’ co-leading scorer entering Monday, was held to four on 1-of-6 shooting.

Alabama was up by 11, 41-30, at the break thanks in part to a 15-2 run that started just before the midpoint of the first half. McNeese missed 9 of 10 field-goal attempts at one point in the frame.

Nelson scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half.

The Crimson Tide started the second half on a 16-6 run to open up a 57-36 advantage on a triple by Wrightsell with 14:47 left in the game.

McNeese didn’t go away, though, scoring 14 of the next 15 points to get its deficit down to eight with 9:03 to go. Sears responded to the burst with two free throws to get the Alabama lead back up to double digits at 60-50, and the hosts led by at least six the rest of the way.

Alabama outshot the Cowboys 44 percent to 39.3 percent from the field for the game and just barely outrebounded them, 36-35.

–Field Level Media