After nearly a month away from Coleman Coliseum, the No. 7-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide men’s basketball team returned home with an 83-75 victory over the Creighton Bluejays Saturday.
“It was a good game, a good win,” head coach Nate Oats said, adding that there is a lot he wants to build on.
The Crimson Tide began the game aggressively, causing three turnovers in the first five minutes. With the strong defense, the team went on an early 9-0 run.
Alabama led the Bluejays 18-10 going into the under-12-minute media timeout, after shooting 8-13 from the field and knocking down two 3-pointers.
The ball kept moving for the Crimson Tide during the first half, and the team only had two turnovers in the first 10 minutes. After the under-12 timeout, the offense outscored the Bluejays 15-8 over the next six minutes, bringing the score to 33-18.
Creighton found momentum in the last five minutes of the first half, outscoring the Crimson Tide 13-4, including a 7-0 run. Despite the newfound momentum, Alabama held the Bluejays back and led 37-31 going into the break.
In the first half, Alabama guard Labaron Philon led the Crimson Tide with 8 points. Forward Aiden Sherrell had six rebounds, including an offensive board leading to a 3-pointer from Sears.
The Crimson Tide quickly gained momentum in the second half after an early 3-pointer from guard Mark Sears. This helped Alabama outscore the Bluejays 12-8 in the first five minutes, increasing the lead to 49-39.
Following multiple Alabama turnovers in quick succession, the Bluejays scored two layups, bringing the count to 53-47, but the Crimson Tide responded with two of its own and took a 57-49 lead with 10 minutes left.
After a steal from guard Chris Youngblood led to a huge dunk by forward Derrion Reid, Coleman erupted with only six minutes to go.
Late in the game, Creighton again found momentum, outscoring Alabama 19-15 in the final five minutes. However, the Bluejays’ run arrived too late, and Alabama came out on top 83-75.
Sears led the Crimson Tide with 27 points, shooting 8/15 with 4/7 from beyond the 3-point line. He also had the most assists of the night, with four.
“He has been outstanding in practice,” Oats said. “This is the best game we’ve seen out of him. Hope it gets him going.”
Sears had his best shooting night of the season so far. He was awarded with the post-game hard hat.
“He’s just so shifty, and he can score in so many different ways,” Creighton head coach Greg McDermott said of Sears. “He played like a vet.”
Philon was the second-highest scorer for Alabama, shooting 7/11 from the field and logging 16 points. Forward Grant Nelson secured a team-high 10 rebounds, while only scoring 4 points.
Alabama will now head to Grand Forks to take on North Dakota on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
