TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 15/16 Alabama men’s basketball team opened its 2025-26 season by defeating North Dakota, 91-62, inside Coleman Coliseum on Monday night.

Preseason all-conference guard Labaron Philon Jr. shined in the first game of his sophomore season, scoring a career-high 22 points, shooting 9-for-13 from the field, along with dishing out a game-high eight assists in addition to grabbing three rebounds.

The Crimson Tide had three others in double figures, including Houston Mallette (15 points), Amari Allen (12 points) and London Jemison (12 points), with Alabama newcomers accounting for 45 of the 87 total points.

North Dakota was led offensively by Garrett Anderson’s 13 points off 6-for-17 shooting from the field, followed by Eli King’s 11 points off 4-for-8 shooting from the field

Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments 

“I thought it was a good one to start with. We were able to get some freshmen some quality minutes. I thought London [Jemison], Davion [Hannah] and Amari [Allen] really helped get as many minutes as we could. I thought Amari did some really good things. He had 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists and only one turnover. He led the team in plus/minus with +30 and he won the Hard Hat. I think he was about the right stuff. I thought getting these freshmen some quality minutes before we play these next four games was big. 

“Labaron ended up with a career-high, which I think that will get broken pretty soon. I thought he had some good stretches, but we need him to be better on defense and take care of the ball better. I thought he made some good plays and show what he’s capable of. We also need some rebounding at the four spot, it’s really lacking right now, so Keitenn [Bristow] will help us with that. I think having extra handlers out there will be helpful with the turnovers. All in all, for the first game, to play as many freshmen as we did, there’s a lot of good stuff to get out of this game.”

Team Stats 

• The Crimson Tide victory marked Nate Oats‘ sixth straight season opener victory
• Alabama dominated the rebounding battle, snagging 46 rebounds compared to the Fighting Hawks’ 26
• Nate Oats‘ fast-paced offense found success in transition, scoring 24 fastbreak points, while North Dakota finished with 11
• Houston Mallette, Taylor Bol Bowen and Amari Allen made their first starts with Alabama on Monday
• The Tide shared the scoring wealth all night, as the team dished out 22 total assists on 31 made field goals
• Alabama shot 31-for-58 (53 percent) from the field, 8-for-27 (30 percent) from deep and 21-for-27 (78 percent) from the free throw line
• Alabama led from the beginning of the game until the end for the first time since the SEC Tournament matchup against Kentucky on March 14 
• The Crimson Tide was without Aden Holloway, Jalil Bethea, Keitenn Bristow and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. 

First Half  

• Alabama scored on its first possession of the season when Taylor Bol Bowen made a layup just five seconds into the matchup
• Both squads traded baskets for the first three minutes of the game until the Crimson Tide went on a 19-5 run from 17:07-10:11 to take a 29-14 lead
• Labaron Philon was responsible for 14 of the first 19 points of the game for Alabama, scoring nine of them and tallying assists on two of the scores
• Nate Oats‘ squad had eight different players find the scoresheet in the first half, including five of them who scored for the first time wearing Crimson and White
• The Tide dominated the glass throughout the half, grabbing 23 rebounds compared to 10 from North Dakota
• Philon led all scorers at the half with 15 points, shooting 6-for-7 from the field, along with dishing out seven assists
• As a team, Alabama shot 17-for-31 (55 percent) from the field, 7-for-16 (44 percent) from beyond the arc and 7-for-8 (88 percent) from the charity stripe
• The Crimson Tide also recorded assists on 13 of 17 made field goals in the opening frame

Second Half  

• Alabama opened the second half on a hot start, going on a 14-2 run with all 14 points coming from different scorers
• The Tide stayed on the gas offensively and held a 20-point lead from the 11:50 mark through the remainder of the game
• Philon checked out with 3:49 left in the game after achieving his career-high in points of the night
• The Alabama defense held the Fighting Hawks to just seven points in the closing 7:32 of the game
• Mallette led the team in scoring in the second half with nine points, shooting 3-for-4 from the field, along with grabbing four rebounds
• As a unit, Alabama shot 14-for-27 (52 percent) from the field, 1-for-11 (9 percent) from three and 14-for-19 (74 percent) from the line in the closing half

Up Next 

• Alabama will take its first road trip of the season to New York to face off against the No. 5/6 St. John’s Red Storm on Nov. 8
• Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. CT at Madison Square Garden and can be seen on FS1