Shanon Hale scored 19 points to help Alabama beat visiting Ball State 77-59 on Friday night in the second round of the Las Vegas Main Event at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Ar'Mond Davis scored 17 points for Alabama (2-1). Avery Johnson had 13 points and five assists.

Tayler Persons scored 15 points to lead Ball State (1-2). Trey Moses had 12 points. Franko House had 10 points and seven rebounds.

This was the first-ever meeting between Alabama and Ball State. The game remained scoreless for more than four minutes as the teams combined to miss their first 11 shots. The Crimson Tide finally broke the ice when Riley Norris made two free throws with 15:36 to play in the opening period.

The Cardinals trailed by one following a layup by House midway through the first half, but the Tide staged a 9-0 run to take a 24-16 lead on a 3-pointer by Davis. Alabama went up by nine on a 3-pointer by Johnson and took a 36-21 lead on a layup by Jimmie Taylor. Ball State cut the deficit to 10 on three free throws by Tahaji Teague with one second remaining.

Alabama shot nearly 50 percent in the opening half and made 7 of 13 from 3-point range. Ball State shot just over 30 percent and made 3 of 11 from beyond the arc.

Alabama opened the second period with a 12-2 run. The Tide went up by 12 early in the half, extended the lead to 18 on a dunk by Hale and went up by 20 on a putback by Norris.

Alabama led by as many as 29 points. The Tide shot 42.6 percent from the field, made 12 of 23 from 3-point range and forced 19 turnovers. Ball State shot 42.6 percent and made just 4 of 17 from long distance.