Going into Saturday, it was unknown if Alabama star guard Labaron Philon would be able to play against Tennessee.
Philon has battled an undisclosed injury during most of SEC play, and Wednesday was the breaking point. Team doctors ruled the sophomore out of Alabama’s game against Mississippi State, with his status still up in the air going into Saturday.
The Crimson Tide entered the afternoon on a five-game losing streak to the Volunteers, dropping the midseason matchup in Tuscaloosa 79-73.
That 73-point output was the fewest points scored in a game all season for the nation’s top scoring team.
Less than a few hours before tip, Philon was activated from the injury report. He came off the bench to start the game, but it didn’t take long for him to make his mark.
After the team went scoreless in the first five minutes, the Mobile, Alabama, native quickly drained a 3 and rolled in an eight-foot-and-one to score the first 6 points of the game for the Crimson Tide.
Philon finished the first half with 8 points in 11 minutes of play, but Alabama trailed 40-28.
The second half was back and forth, with Alabama unable to gain much ground on the scoreboard.
With 9:29 left in the game and Alabama trailing by double digits, Philon buried his first shot of the second half. This is where Philon’s onslaught began, making shot after shot and willing Alabama back into the game.
With under 30 seconds to play and the game tied at 69, Philon had the ball in his hands with a chance to win it for the Crimson Tide. A screen switched Volunteers 6-foot-11 forward J.P. Estrella onto him, and Philon shook his head in disbelief at the matchup. Just seconds later, Philon hit a game-winning turnaround jumper over Estrella.
On a day where it was unknown if he would even play, Philon racked up 23 points on 9/14 shooting in 27 minutes.
“When you’ve got a player like him, sometimes you’re better off not trying to get too tricky as a coach,” head coach Nate Oats said. “He goes and gets buckets. He gets a tough bucket.”
Philon outscored Tennessee by himself 15 to 12 in the final 10 minutes.
“They broke our hearts here last year,” Philon said. “We had to give them a taste of their own medicine.”
The Crimson Tide and its star guard will return to action Tuesday night in Athens against Georgia. Tipoff is currently set for 5:30 p.m. CT, and the game can be streamed on ESPNEWS.
