WALDRON GRAIN & FUEL

12/29 21:37 CST Holloway's career-high 26 points lead No. 14 Alabama over Yale, 102-78 Holloway's career-high 26 points lead No. 14 Alabama over Yale, 102-78 By KENNINGTON SMITH III Associated Press TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) --- Aden Holloway scored a career-high 26 points and handed out seven assists as No. 14 Alabama defeated Yale 102-78 on Monday night. Amari Allen, Jalil Bethea and Latrell Wrightsell added 15 points apiece for the Crimson Tide (10-3), who played without star guard Labaron Philon Jr. for the first time this season. Alabama coach Nate Oats said Philon, the team's leader in points and assists, injured his leg in the previous game Dec. 21 against Kennesaw State but it's not a long-term concern. Despite Philon's absence, Alabama had one of its best offensive games of the season. The Crimson Tide scored a season-high 55 points and made 11 shots from 3-point range in the first half, shooting 50% from the floor overall. Alabama entered as the fourth-best 3-point shooting team in the nation with 12.8 per game and finished with a season-best 22 from behind the arc. Houston Mallete had 12 points for the Tide, and Allen grabbed nine rebounds. Nick Townsend scored 18 points and Isaac Celiscar added 17 to lead Yale (11-2), which had its eight-game winning streak snapped. Alabama outrebounded the Bulldogs 46-38 and turned 21 offensive boards into 23 second-chance points. Coming into the game, the Tide ranked 228th in the country in rebounding margin at plus-0.6. Holloway drained a deep 3-pointer with 38 seconds left to put Alabama above 100 points. He converted the free throw for a four-point play, giving him his career high.

Up next Yale visits Brown in Ivy League play next Monday. Alabama hosts Kentucky in its SEC opener Saturday. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball