Alabama men’s basketball pulled away late to defeat LSU 80-73 on Saturday night. The win came after star guard Mark Sears scored 0 points and did not play in the second half of the game.
Guard Chris Youngblood made his presence known early for the Crimson Tide in what was his first start of the season, scoring 7 of the team’s first 9 points. The Tuscaloosa native’s early impact sparked a 7-0 run for Alabama in the first 4:11 of the contest, giving the Crimson Tide an early 9-7 lead.
The Tigers responded with a run of their own, outscoring Alabama 10-4 in the next four minutes of game time, taking a 17-13 lead with 11:01 left in the half.
A deep 3-pointer from guard Aden Holloway, a euro-step layup from Youngblood and a corner 3-pointer from forward Jarin Stevenson electrified fans and gave Alabama a 23-19 lead with 9:09 remaining in the frame.
The sequence appeared to rattle the Tigers, as a 14-4 Alabama run ensued, extending the lead to 29-23 with 4:47 left in the half.
As was the case for the first period, LSU came up with a response. This time it came in the form of a 7-2 run to cut the Alabama lead to 1, making the score 31-30.
The next 3:27 of action featured the teams trading buckets, resulting in a tie game at 40 when they departed for their respective locker rooms.
Alabama’s All-American Sears did not register a point in the entire first half of play in 17 minutes of action. This is the second time this season that he has been held scoreless. The other instance was in a neutral site game versus No. 25 Illinois on Nov. 20.
The first five minutes of the second half saw the teams continue to go back and forth, but a 3-pointer from Holloway gave Alabama a slight edge at 52-50 with 15:02 on the clock.
While the teams continued to exchange scores, a corner 3-pointer from forward Grant Nelson reinvigorated the crowd and gave the Crimson Tide a 63-56 lead with 11:49 remaining.
The Crimson Tide did just enough to keep the Tigers at arm’s length, pulling away to a victory despite Sears’ absence in the second half.
Holloway said that the team’s “energy and effort” increased in the second half, leading Alabama to escape with the win.
Oats explained the reasoning for the lineup that played in the second half, saying the team “went with the guys in the second half who gave us the best chance to win the game.”
LSU head coach Matt McMahon pointed to three things that made Alabama difficult for his team to play against.
“Number one, with their ability to attack you one on one off the dribble and get in the paint. Number two, getting to the free throw line. And then three, they’ve been top 10 in the country on the offensive glass all season long,” he said.
Oats’ assessment was that his team’s defensive performance gave it the best shot at winning.
“Our defense essentially won the game,” Oats said. “Our offense was good enough to win, but our defense won us this game.”
Holloway was Alabama’s leading scorer with 19 points on the night. He also pulled down four rebounds on the defensive glass.
“He’s been great for us,” Oats said. “He’s playing as well as anybody in our backcourt right now. I liked his spark off the bench.”
Forward Mouhamed Dioubate continued to show high-level scoring this season, as he was second on the team in scoring with 14 points and came away with six rebounds.
Youngblood and Nelson had 13 and 12 points, respectively. Youngblood had five rebounds, while Nelson had three.
Oats noted post game that the team got outrebounded for the fourth time this season and that it’s “something that we’re going to have to really address going into Mississippi State.”
Alabama’s next test will be a trip to Starkville on Wednesday for a Top 25 showdown with the No. 14 Mississippi State Bulldogs. The game is at 8 p.m. CT and can be streamed on SEC Network.
