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basketball Edit

Alabama basketball rolls past Spain Select Team to open foreign tour

Alabama basketball’s foreign tour began with a blowout as the Crimson Tide cruised past the Spain Select team 108-64 on Monday in Barcelona.

Five-star forward Brandon Miller lived up to his preseason hype, leading Alabama with 17 points and seven rebounds while fellow freshmen Rylan Griffen and Noah Clowney scored 13 points apiece. Sophomore Charles Bediako and transfers Mark Sears and Dom Welch all added 11 points to round out the Crimson Tide’s leading scorers.

Griffen earned the team's hard-hat award with 15.5 blue-collar points, chipping in six rebounds to go with his 13 points.

"It's a blessing," Griffen said of his first game in an Alabama uniform. "I thank God to be able to come out and play at the collegiate level. We played against some pros. This is my first game, so I tried to play as hard as I could, and it ended up with me winning the hard hat."

Alabama’s starting lineup consisted of four newcomers as Sears manned the point guard position with Griffen at shooting guard, Miller at small forward and Clowney at power forward. Bediako manned his usual role at the center position.

Alabama newcomers combined to score 85 of Tide’s 108 total points in the victory. That included 54 points from the Crimson Tide's five-man signing class, which also includes four-star guard Jaden Bradley (5 points) and four-star JUCO transfer forward Nick Pringle (6 points).

“I was happy with them,” coach Nate Oats said of his freshmen in a postgame interview. “Obviously the first time they’ve played any sort of college basketball.”

Alabama will next be in action Thursday night in Paris against the Lithuania Men’s “B” National Team. The team will have one more day in Barcelona before departing for Paris Wednesday morning.

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Game highlights

— Leading 27-20 after the first quarter of play, Alabama went on to outscored Spain 81-34 over the final three quarters en route to the win.

— Alabama owned a 53-31 advantage on the boards including a 17-8 edge on the offensive glass.

— The Tide shot it well from deep, shooting 41 percent and knocking down 11 treys (11-of-27), led by Welch’s three three-pointers.

— UA finished 28-of-41 (68 percent) at the rim and 41-of-70 (.586) from the floor.

— Sears (6) and Bradley (5) combined for 11 of the team’s 23 assists.

— The Tide finished the game with 108 Blue Collar Points compared to 71 from Spain.

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