No. 2 seed Alabama men’s basketball defeated No. 15 seed Robert Morris 90-81 Friday afternoon, staving off a potential upset bid in front of a well-represented Colonial crowd in Cleveland, Ohio.
“As it got down to the wire, it started getting loud in there, and we know we had a lot of experience at that last year,” guard Mark Sears said. “I think we showed our composure and resiliency of not getting too high, and we stayed with that throughout the game.”
From the jump, the Crimson Tide used its size advantage to dominate the paint. The team scored 11 of its first 14 points in the paint or at the free throw line, giving Alabama a 14-4 lead in the first seven minutes of the game.
Responding with a 7-0 run, the Colonials heated up but were quickly halted by a pair of 3-pointers converted by forward Mouhamed Dioubate and a strong offensive presence in the paint from center Clifford Omoruyi. Alabama then took a 28-18 lead with 7:39 left in the first half.
Robert Morris closed the gap to one possesion at 32-29 with 5:29 left in the half after an 11-4 run capped off by a fastbreak dunk from forward Amarion Dickerson.
The remainder of the half featured the teams trading buckets, resulting in a 40-36 lead for the Crimson Tide headed into the break.
The best thing for Alabama in the first half was the play from Omoruyi. He contributed a half-leading 15 points on 7/7 shooting and pulled down three rebounds. His obvious size advantage made him a dangerous threat at the rim, where most of the team’s first-half points came from.
The worst thing for Alabama was the lack of production from guards Sears and Labaron Philon, who combined for just 3 points in the first frame.
The Colonials cut the deficit to 2 at 46-44 in the first four minutes of the second half, but a 3-pointer from Sears appeared to flip a switch for his team. The Crimson Tide went on a 10-2 run, causing Robert Morris to call a timeout, and the team reclaimed a double-digit lead at 56-46 with 12:39 left in the game.
Dickerson came out of the timeout hot for the Colonials, scoring 6 straight points by himself to cut his team’s deficit to 4 at 56-52 at the under-12 media timeout. This ignited his team and the traveling fans and resulted in the team cutting Alabama’s lead to 64-63 with 7:44 left.
The defensive breakdowns and offensive stagnation led Alabama head coach Nate Oats to put forward Grant Nelson into the game for the first time after saying earlier in the day that the team would only use Nelson if it had to, as he was resting due to injury.
“We were hoping not to play Grant,” Oats said, adding that Nelson requested to be put in during the game.
Initially, his presence had no positive impact and the Colonials continued to roll, even taking a 65-64 lead with 7:10 left. But a dunk from Nelson reinvigorated the Crimson Tide, starting an 11-1 run and giving the team a 74-66 lead with 3:24 left.
“I trust him. He shows up in big games. He came in, and we went on a run,” Oats said.
In a game that looked like it could spell disaster for Alabama, the team outperformed Robert Morris the remainder of the game, going on a 19-6 run between the 6:40 and 1:50 marks and ultimately claiming victory.
Oats said he was “disappointed” in the team’s offensive rebounding but noted that his team was “resilient” despite getting outrebounded for much of the game.
After Sears’ poor first-half performance, he ended up leading the Crimson Tide in scoring with 22 points. He also dished out 10 assists, completing the double-double.
“I thought Mark did a great job,” Oats said. “I thought he competed well, and that’s what we’re looking for out of our leaders.”
Dioubate was second on the team in scoring with 18 points on 8/10 shooting. He also earned a double-double by pulling down 10 rebounds.
After the 15-point first half, Omoruyi went quiet in the second, scoring just 2.
Alabama will return to the floor for Round 2 of the NCAA Tournament against the winner of No. 10 Vanderbilt vs No. 7 Saint Mary’s on Sunday. The game will take place at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The game time is to be determined.
