TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Mark Sears scored 24 points to go with five rebounds and six assists as No. 22 Alabama beat Mercer 98-67 on Friday night.

Sears shot 8-for-12 from the field and made seven of his eight free throw attempts. Nick Pringle and Jarin Stevenson scored 14 for the Crimson Tide and Aaron Estrada had 10.

Mercer (1-3) was led by Jalyn McCreary with 17 points and eight rebounds and Amanze Ngumezi had 11 points.

Alabama (4-0) trailed early in its last two home games against Indiana State and South Alabama, but had no such trouble with the Bears, jumping out to a 15-4 lead in the first four minutes. Alabama shot 79% from the field in the first half, its first time shooting better than 70% in a half since Nov. 29, 2019.

BIG PICTURE

Alabama is about to get a significant increase in the quality of its competition, with a chance that six of its next seven games are against teams from Power 5 conferences. It goes into that series of games with a red-hot offense, having scored 98 or more points in the first four games of its regular season and shooting at least 42% from 3-point range.

UP NEXT

Mercer: Travels to Destin, Florida, for the Emerald Coast Classic and a Nov. 24 game against Tennessee State.

Alabama: Travels to Destin, Florida, for an Emerald Coast Classic game against Ohio State on Nov. 24, its first game away from home and its first game against a Power 5 opponent this season.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball