TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Nate Oats wasn't too pleased with his team's performance in the first half of Tuesday night's season opener against Sam Houston, but Alabama quickly turned things around in the second half to open the year with a dominant victory.

No. 20 Alabama went on a 16-2 run coming out of halftime to beat the Bearkats 96-74 inside Coleman Coliseum to start the season in the win column.

Kentucky transfer Brandon Garrison scored on Alabama's first possession of the second half, and London Jemison followed it up with a 3-pointer on the next possession to push the lead to 45-29, and the Crimson Tide never looked back.

Alabama is known for shooting 3s in Oats' system, but the Crimson Tide shot just 32 percent from beyond the arc in the first half. Despite a slow night from 3, Alabama stll managed to put up nearly 100 points.

It was a balanced scoring night for the Tide with seven players scoring 8 points or more. Jemison and Boise State transfer Drew Fielder led the charge with 15 points apiece.

Alabama's freshmen showcased their talent with a couple highlight reel dunks from Jaxon Richardson and Tarris Bouie.

The biggest contrast on the stat sheet came in the turnover department. Alabama turned Sam Houston over 23 times leading to 33 points off turnovers. The Crimson Tide had some careless passes in the first half as the players settled into the season, but Alabama finished with just 10 turnovers on the game.

One things Oats put a big emphasis on this offseason was increasing Alabama's size so that it would be a better rebounding team. Alabama got out-rebounded 45-42, which will become an even bigger point of focus for him moving forward.

The Crimson Tide was without Aden Holloway while he finishes serving his suspension for an arrest in March. Holloway was on the bench in the street clothes, fully engaged in the game with his teammates and seated among the coaches. Even without Holloway, Oats was able to 11 players in the game in the first half alone.

Alabama (1-0) will be back in Coleman Coliseum on Friday to take on Arkansas State (1-0) at 6:30 p.m. CT.

This story will be updated with quotes and video.