Mark Sears finished with 22 points and six assists to lead No. 5 Alabama to an 88-68 victory over host South Carolina on Wednesday night in the Southeastern Conference matchup in Columbia, S.C.The Crimson Tide (13-2, 2-0 SEC) won their seventh in a row and 10th in a row against the Gamecocks (10-5, 0-2 SEC), who dropped their second consecutive game.Sears helped Alabama recover after a bit of a slow start and take the lead for good with 15:08 left in the first half on a Labaron Philon 3-pointer and free throw.From that point on, the Crimson Tide used their size advantage at the rim to overpower the Gamecocks. Alabama outscored South Carolina 48-32 on points in the paint.Alabama showed off its depth with 39 points coming from its bench. All of South Carolina’s points came from its starters until the final minute, when its reserves scored four points.While the Crimson Tide dominated inside, Sears balanced things from the perimeter, going 4 for 6 from 3-point range as Alabama shot 8 of 19 overall from beyond the arc.Aden Holloway contributed 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting for Alabama, while Clifford Omoruyi totaled 10 points and five rebounds. Grant Nelson added seven rebounds.