Mark Sears praises defensive effort in win against Jackson State

Alabama guard Mark Sears was pleased with the defensive effort against Jackson State on Tuesday evening. After giving up 100 points in a loss to Gonzaga on Saturday, the Crimson Tide tightened things up against the Tigers in an 84-64 win.

Alabama held Jackson State to 34.8% shooting and forced 18 turnovers in the victory. Sears was a big part of the defensive performance, finishing as one of four Crimson Tide players with at least two steals.

“Just be aggressive defensively,” Sears said postgame on the SEC Network. “I wanted to be more aggressive defensively and it made offense easier in the second half. We’ve got to get back to ourselves. Defensively, that wasn’t us against Gonzaga.”

As Sears said, Alabama really found its rhythm in the second half. The Crimson Tide entered halftime leading 33-32, but locked in on both ends in the second to outscore Jackson State by 19 points and pull away.

No player had a bigger turnaround than Sears on the offensive end in the second half. The Ohio transfer entered the locker room scoreless, but nailed a 3-pointer within the first minute coming out of the break. He ended the game with 15 points, one of five Alabama players to score in double figures.

“We were very balanced,” Sears said. “Tonight was Noah Gurley’s night, JQ was hitting, just everybody. Everybody can contribute offensively.”

The win improved the No. 9 Crimson Tide to 10-2 as they prepare to open SEC play next week. Alabama ended last season with a loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but Mark Sears believes this year has the potential to be much different.

“Deep run in the NCAA Tournament,” he said of the team’s goals. “We’ve got something very special here. We all love each other and we play together. That’s very special about us and will take us a long way in March.”