No. 7 Alabama men’s basketball topped No. 1 Auburn on the road in buzzer-beating fashion 93-91, ending the regular season with a win over its in-state rival.
“This is a big win for us. This is a big win for all Alabama fans,” forward Grant Nelson said.
The Crimson Tide took a 10-4 lead in the first four minutes, a quick start that the team did not get in its last meeting with the Tigers.
Then, after a few minutes of the teams trading buckets, Nelson took over.
With Alabama maintaining a 25-21 lead and 8:42 left in the half, Nelson threw down a dunk, drawing a foul. He then hit the “Crimson Crane” celebration, causing boos to rain down upon him and his teammates.
He scored 9 of his team’s following 12 points, giving the Crimson Tide a 37-29 lead with 5:36 remaining in the half.
“My teammates, they’ve been giving me confidence,” Nelson said.
The Tigers tightened things down the stretch, pulling within 3 at 45-42 and forcing an Alabama shot clock violation as the game reached halftime.
Like their last meeting, Auburn focused on stopping the Crimson Tide’s star player, guard Mark Sears. Despite the team scoring 45 points in the first half, the season-long leading scorer was held to 3 points in his 17 minutes of action.
The Tigers got to work after coming out of the break, scoring 5 points to start the half and taking a 47-45 lead in the first two minutes.
After several minutes of the teams trading buckets, Alabama took a 63-57 lead with 9:30 left after scoring 9 straight. The run featured former Tiger and current Crimson Tide guard Aden Holloway drilling a 3-pointer.
During the stretch, Auburn forward Chad Baker-Mazara was given a flagrant-2 foul and ejected from the contest for elbowing Alabama guard Chris Youngblood in the back of the head.
The Tigers then seized momentum, tying the score at 69 with 5:54 remaining and eventually taking a 72-71 lead with 4:57 left.
“We could’ve easily folded,” Oats said.
A Nelson 3-pointer from the corner gave the lead back to the Crimson Tide at 77-76 with 2:21 on the clock.
With the score tied at 79 and under a minute remaining, both teams missed chances at taking the lead, forcing overtime on the Plains.
The teams traded buckets out of the gate, but a steal from guard Labaron Philon turned into 2 points in transition, giving Alabama an 85-83 lead with 1:59 left in the period.
With the score tied at 91 with less than 15 seconds left, the Crimson Tide looked to find a way to take the lead. It came as a buzzer-beating shot from Sears, providing redemption after the team lost in the same fashion one week ago in Knoxville.
Oats noted that the late game improvements from weekend to weekend came from coaching adjustments.
“The improvements were more from the coaching staff,” Oats said. “I was really disappointed with how I personally got our guys through that last 30 seconds against Tennessee.”
Nelson ended the game with a team-high 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds.
Philon and center Clifford Omoruyi each added 15 points, while Holloway added 5 in his return to Neville Arena.
Sears had just 9 points, but 2 of them — the game-winning points — were some of the most important of the entire season. He also dished out seven assists.
The Crimson Tide will return to action Friday for the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee, at Bridgestone Arena.
