TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Nick Townsend tallied a team-high 18 points, but it wasn't enough, as No. 14 Alabama used a big first half and knocked down 22 three-pointers to defeat the Yale men's basketball team, 102–78, on Monday evening at Coleman Coliseum.
 
Turning Point
After Isaac Celiscar gave Yale an early 3-0 advantage, Alabama's offense took off. The Crimson Tide knocked down four of their next five three-pointers to jump ahead 12–4 at the 16:40 mark. From there, Alabama never looked back, shooting 50% (19-of-28) in the first half and draining 11 three-pointers in each half to put the game out of reach.
 
Notable Performances

• Townsend scored 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, knocking down 2-of-4 from three-point range while grabbing seven rebounds.
• Celiscar notched 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting with five rebounds.
• Riley Fox added 12 points, 10 of which came in the second half.
• Casey Simmons contributed eight points, went 6-of-8 at the free-throw line, and led the team with eight rebounds.
• Alabama's Aden Holloway paced five Crimson Tide players in double figures, scoring 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting while dishing out seven assists.
• The Bulldogs and Alabama played an even second half (47–47), with Yale holding the Tide to 38.5% shooting (15-of-39) in the frame.
• Alabama's 22 made three-pointers were a season high and fell three shy of the program record (25).

 
Hear from Coach Jones
"We looked like we hadn't played in 18 days to start. I thought our rhythm was a little off. We had some opportunities that really rimmed out—some misses I haven't seen from us. And you know, the length and size of Alabama certainly had something to do with it, but not having played for 18 days was a big part of it. I thought we played better in the second half, although I was a bit disappointed in our rebounding effort for the entire game. Alabama is not a great rebounding team, but they looked like one tonight, and they obviously shot it really well, which made a huge difference."
 

Bulldog Notes

• Celiscar has scored in double figures for eight consecutive games.
• Townsend has recorded double-digit points in four consecutive games and collected seven or more rebounds in five straight games.
• Fox has notched double figures in nine games this season.
• Simmons' eight rebounds matched a season high.
• Yale tallied 32 points in the paint compared to Alabama's 20.
• The defeat snapped Yale's eight-game winning streak.

 
Up Next
The Bulldogs will open Ivy action at Brown on Monday, Jan. 5. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.