TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Shea Cotton scored 20 points and Rod Grizzard had 19 and Alabama shut out Harold "The Show" Arceneaux in the first half as the Crimson Tide beat Weber State 81-61 Friday night.
Alabama (1-2), which led throughout the game, held a 38-23 advantage at halftime and used 65 percent free-throw shooting to extend its lead to 24 points in the last six minutes. Both came on shots by Cotton -- a dunk at 5:46 that made it 71-47 and a free throw with 1:26 to go for an 81-57 lead.The closest Weber State (0-1) came in the second half was 38-26 on Shawn Moore's 3-pointer at 19:42.
Alabama outrebounded the Wildcats 51-31, including 25-14 in the first half.
In the first half, the Tide took an 8-1 lead on Grizzard's jump shot with 16:16 to go, then Weber State outscored Alabama 9-3 to pull within 11-10 on Stephan Bachman's 3-point shot. That was the closest the Wildcats would get.
Alabama gradually pulled away, taking a 19-12 lead on Kenny Walker's jumper at the 9:44 mark and continued building the margin until Terrance Meade's 3-pointer at 1:15 gave them the halftime 38-23 lead.
Meade scored 10 points for the Crimson Tide. Cotton and Erwin Dudley each had eight rebounds.
Eddie Gill led Weber State with 21 points, including 15 in the second half, and nine steals. Arceneaux, a John Wooden national Player of the Year candidate, scored only eight points, all in the second half.
It was the second meeting between the Tide and Weber State, which knocked North Carolina out of the NCAA tournament last season. Alabama beat the Wildcats 84-80 in overtime in the Pearl Harbor Classic in December 1998.