In a game that felt like a March Madness slugfest, freshman forward Brandon Miller’s heroic effort was not enough at the C.M. Newton Classic.  

On Saturday, No. 4 Alabama fell to the No. 15 Gonzaga University Bulldogs 100-90 in a hard-fought matchup between two of the country’s best.  

In front of a near-sellout crowd of 15,847 at Legacy Arena, it was Miller and Drew Timme who stole the show, with Miller posting 36 points and six rebounds to Timme’s 29 points and 10 rebounds.  

Early on, it was Alabama who took charge — bursting out of the gate to take a 20-11 lead. 

Leading the way for Alabama in the first half was freshman Jaden Bradley, who had 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting and two assists.  

Following Bradley was Rylan Griffen, Noah Gurley and Mark Sears, who combined for 18 points.  

At the break, it was the Bulldogs who found themselves in the driver’s seat, leading 47-42.  

Heading into the locker room, the Crimson Tide had turned the ball over 14 times to Gonzaga’s three — a general theme throughout the course of the game.  

In the second half, it was more of the same — Miller hitting shot after shot, and Timme following suit with an array of floaters and footwork in the paint.   

While the Bulldogs found themselves in foul trouble with six players having three or more calls, it didn’t prevent Mark Few’s team from remaining disciplined on both ends, shutting the Crimson Tide down over the game’s final minutes. 

“If we want to make sure we don’t keep losing, we have to play harder,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. “If we’re going get the other team playing harder and get more deflections and stuff, we’re going to lose games.” 

While the Crimson Tide fell short in Birmingham once again, the fourth-year head coach knows there was plenty to hang their hat on at Legacy Arena. 

“There were some bright spots in the game,” Oats said. “Brandon [Miller] playing well, the younger guys playing well. We’ll get better.” 

While Miller dominated, the less-heralded freshman Bradley finished with 18 points in his second career start — his second consecutive high-level performance versus a top-15 team.  

“We play these good games to figure out what we need to get better at, and we have plenty of stuff we need to work on,” Oats said. “We’ll get back and work on it, and we’ll have one more test before Christmas and start SEC play after Christmas.” 

After a disappointing loss, Alabama will now turn their attention towards a matchup with Crimson Tide legacy Mo Williams’ Jackson State University Tigers. 

Tipoff for No. 4 Alabama and Jackson State in Coleman Coliseum is set for Dec. 20 at 6:00 p.m. CT on SEC Network.  

Questions or comments? Email Blake Byler (Sports Editor) at [email protected]