The 3-pointer: Three takeaways after Alabama's 95-59 win against Liberty

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama made an offensive statement in its second game of the season, downing Liberty 95-59 on Friday for its second-consecutive win.

It was the team's second game where it averaged more than 39% shooting from the field as it cruised to a 20-point against Longwood. The Flames proved to be more of a challenge, especially in the first half, but the Alabama offense took over crossing the 90-point mark for the first time this season.

Here are three takeaways from Alabama's win.

After a double-double against Longwood, Brandon Miller continued his fast start to his freshman season, tallying a career-high 20 points on Friday.

Miller led all scorers with 11 points in the first half with nine of those points coming from behind the arc. On Thursday, Nate Oats highlighted Miller along with a few other players who could shoot better from behind the arc. In the second half, Miller continued to score tallying nine points on 2-of-4 shooting. Miller also finished just two rebounds shy of his second-consecutive double-double.

"I felt like we got going pretty early and just maintained that energy that we had coming from each other," Miller said. "Like I said we just build each other up to win."

Miller trailed only Mark Sears in points as the Ohio transfer tallied a game-high 22 points in the win. The duo combined for 42 of the team's 95 points despite the absence of Dom Welch, Darius Miles and Jahvon Quinerly. Despite the short bench, it didn't impede the offensive cohesion as Alabama hit the 95-point mark, a plateau it met or crossed just three times last season.

"We played really well off of each other," Sears said. "When you're playing with guys like Brandon, Nimari (Burnett) and (Jaden Bradley) it just makes the game that much easier for you."

Alabama grew tired of the questions about the inconsistent shooting from behind the 3-point line. On Friday, the team responded with an emphatic statement, shooting 47.6% from behind the arc. Alabama hit a season-high 10 3-pointers after shooting less than 20% in the season-opener against Longwood and the charity scrimmage against Southern Illinois.

Miller got the team going from deep as his first three baskets in the first half were all from behind the arc. Along with Miller, Mark Sears, Rylan Griffen and even Noah Gurley.

After the game Oats said he wasn't worried about the team's rocky start from behind the 3-point line, insinuating it was only a matter of time before the team found its range.

"I've seen us make shots a lot in practice. We just told them to take the right shots," Oats said. "Shoot them in rhythm and trust your work. Sears and Brandon came out 3 of 5 and 4 of 5 so they shot it well and we got some other guys that can really shoot it. Nimari is going to start making some shots, I know he can make shots. Rylan (Griffen) made some shots too. All in all, I thought it was good, but we still got stuff to work on."

When asked about how Alabama was going to slow down Liberty's Darius McGhee, Oats said the team was going to be "tuned in" when he was on the floor. On Friday, fans found out what he meant exactly as Nimari Burnett guarded the two-time ASUN Player of the Year the length of the court.

No matter where McGhee went there was No. 25 on his hip. The Roxboro, North Carolina native struggled all night against Alabama, tallying just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting. More importantly, McGhee shot just 20% from deep despite setting the Liberty record for most career three-pointers made with 366.

That shooting prowess wasn't there against Alabama as McGhee tallied eight points on 3 of 11 shooting and a rocky 1-for-5 behind the 3-point line.

"He's got a 6-10 wingspan, he's a high IQ guy and plays hard," Oats said. "We liked (the matchup). I thought it also allowed us to put Sears on Colin Porter who had a big rep coming out of high school. We thought Sears' quickness matched Porter's and thought Nimari's length and size could bother McGhee and I think it did."

The Liberty guard tandem tallied 14 points on a combined 5-for-17 shooting. Porter tallied a season-low 66.7 offensive rating while McGhee finished with a 54.1 as both players failed to reach double figures in scoring.