e game. To get that breakthrough - which took a long time - we did have to stay patient.New Zealand had given themselves 10

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Shannon Hale hit 3 of 5 from 3-point range and finished with 19 points and Alabama beat Ball State 77-59 on Friday night.I thought his body language was good, Alabama coach Avery Johnson said. ...What more can I say. That Shannon Hale is the one I consistently want to see.After coming off the bench to score 13 in the first half, Hale was inserted into the starting lineup for the second in place Bola Olaniyan. Reserves ArMond Davis and Avery Johnson Jr. combined to score 30 for the Crimson Tide (2-1), with 17 and 13 points, respectively, to help Alabamas bench to match the Cardinals in scoring.Davis made 5-of-7 3-pointers and Johnson Jr. made 3-of-3 while adding six assists and five rebounds.Johnson Jr. said his teammates were instrumental in his success, but he also said breaking from routine and taking a nap before the pre-game meal helped to settle his nerves.I just kind of told myself yesterday, Im not going to wait until like my fifth or my last year to turn it up, Johnson Jr. said. So I thought this was going to be a good opportunity so once I got there I did some different things in my pregame.It was close for much of the first half and scoreless for the first 4-plus minutes. Hales dunk with 15:20 left in the half was the first made field goal and gave Alabama a 4-0 lead. Alabamas offense picked up from there until it cooled off late in the second half when the team failed to make a shot from the field for nearly 7 1/2 minutes.Despite those struggles, the Cardinals (1-2) were unable to take advantage. Tayler Persons led Ball State with 15 points. Franko House, who came in averaging 22 points and 10 rebounds, finished with 10 points and seven boards.Johnson credited Wednesdays practice with the success of the bench. With three starters missing that day others had to step up.Shannon and Avery and ArMond they practically are on the same team every practice so they are getting in a good rhythm of knowing each others strengths and weaknesses, Johnson said.BIG PICTUREAlabama: The Crimson Tide bounced back from Tuesdays 77-72 loss to Dayton to avoid falling below .500.Ball State: The Cardinals held their first two opponents to exactly 64 points in regulation, but the team didnt have an answer for Alabamas offense once it got going.NEXT UPAlabama: The Crimson Tide will leave the confines of Coleman Coliseum for the first time this season to face Valparaiso in Las Vegas, Nevada.Ball State: The Cardinals will return home to face Coppin State for the chance to claim the teams first home victory of the season on Monday.STAT OF THE NIGHT: Ball State committed 21 turnovers -- 100 more than the Tide. Alabama finished the game with 14 steals and outscored the Cardinals 26-6 on points off turnovers. Custom Toronto Raptors Jerseys . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Vince Carter Raptors Jersey . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. https://www.raptorsrookiesshop.com/Marc-Gasol-City-Edition-Jersey/ . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rookies. Patrick McCaw Jersey .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. C.J. Miles Raptors Jersey . The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. Kane Williamson said the fourth victory of his captaincy will go down as one of the great Test wins, after New Zealand claimed nine wickets in the final session to seal a 138-run win. A draw had appeared the most likely result for most of day five, and although New Zealand had gone wicketless with the first new ball, they claimed six scalps with the second - Pakistan losing the last four wickets for one run, in the space of 14 balls.Pakistan had also lost Sarfraz Ahmed to a run out shortly before the second new ball was due. The wicket of Sarfraz was a big moment, but I guess when you take nine wickets in a session, they are all pretty big moments, Williamson said. It all happens pretty quickly. With the new ball around the corner, we thought if we could open up an end, and get a new batsman out to face the new ball, we would be in with a slim sniff. The feeling at tea time and now is pretty contrasting. This will go down as a great Test victory. For it to completely flip-turn was something pretty sudden, certainly.Williamson suggested Pakistans collapse had not been spurred by any cataclysmic shifts on strategy on New Zealands part. With the visitors having batted the first four hours of the day without losing a wicket, it was assumed that the Hamilton pitch had lost its sting.That surface was pretty good for batting, Williamson said. That certainly showed when first new ball didnt do a huge amount. They batted very well and we werent able pick up those early wickets. Only thing we could do was stick with it and try and control the game. To get that breakthrough - which took a long time - we did have to stay patient.New Zealand had given themselves 101 overs to bowl Pakistan out, after declaring late on the fourth day. Wiith 369 needed for victory in the fourth innings, Pakistan had also had incentive to attempt the chase, as they were trailing in the series.ddddddddddddIf you look back to yesterday and discussions around declaration in terms of giving the opposition an opportunity to track down the total and play a few shots - that perhaps worked in our favour, Williamson said. It was a big target. To chase it down, you have to play very well. They were getting themselves into a position - nowadays, with T20 cricket, you give yourselves 30 overs and think about what you can chase. That seemed to be how they were taking down the total.Where we were really good in those first two sessions is keeping the run rate down below two. It kept pushing the required rate up a bit higher, and made them go hard a bit earlier. That presented us with a few opportunities. Pakistan are a very good side who know how to bat time, so perhaps we were fortunate to get nine in the last session.The 2-0 victory means New Zealand will now move into the remainder of their seven-Test home summer with some confidence. They had suffered four consecutive Test losses before this series had begun.It was going to be a big challenge coming home from India and a tough series against South Africa. The guys picked themselves up, Williamson said. I suppose we went back to the drawing board with how wed like to play our cricket at home. Sometimes the baggage from previous results can be tough to get past, but the guys were fantastic. They had a couple of days off and they came back fresh, raring to go. Theyre all looking forward to a big home summer. ' ' '