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Mitchell leads No. 19 Alabama over North Florida

Nov 12, 2011 - 4:45 AM Tuscaloosa, AL (Sports Network) - Tony Mitchell netted 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds as No. 19 Alabama rolled North Florida, 64-44 from Coleman Coliseum.

JaMychal Green finished with 18 points to go along with six rebounds and two assists for the Crimson Tide (1-0), while Rodney Cooper added 10 points and five boards.

"We can take a lot from tonight's game," Mitchell said. "It has proven that we have a lot of stuff to work on. We've just got to come out and get the job done and get wins."

Levi Randolph contributed five points and pulled down eight boards in the victory.

The Crimson Tide will look to build upon their 2010-11 season in which they won 25 games and advanced all the way to the NIT title game.

Andy Diaz led the Ospreys (0-1) with nine points and nine rebounds, while David Jeune and Jerron Granberry chipped in eight points apiece.

North Florida stayed close throughout the majority of the opening half, but Alabama used a quick 7-0 burst to push out to an 18-11 lead with 6:04 to go in the first half.

The Crimson Tide moved even further ahead with an 8-1 run late in the half to make it 26-12. The teams traded possessions with under a minute to go before a layup by Nick Jacobs gave Alabama a 28-14 lead with 43 seconds to play.

The Crimson Tide closed out the first half holding a 29-16 lead.

In the second half, the teams swapped baskets in the opening minutes and Alabama held a comfortable 33-19 lead with 17:54 to go courtesy of a three- pointer by Granberry.

A trey by Mitchell with 13:06 to go put the Tide up 38-21 and pair of free throws by Nick Jacobs gave the Crimson Tide their largest lead of the night at 28, 64-36.

The Ospreys netted the last eight points of the game, but the margin was too large and Alabama held on for an easy victory.

"We came to win. We don't try to be close, and we don't try to learn from losing. We don't believe in that philosophy," North Florida head coach Matthew Driscoll said. "Obviously, the first 10 minutes we showed our fortitude to play at their level. We just need to take it to another level."

Game Notes

Alabama won its only previous meeting with North Florida in 2009....It was Alabama's 21st straight home win...Alabama head coach Anthony Grant improved to 5-1 in season openers...Alabama will face Oakland on Monday, while North Florida will head home to Jacksonville to tangle with Savannah State.