No. 18 Alabama men’s basketball escaped an almost-upset from the Oklahoma Sooners 83-81 on Saturday to improve to 3-2 in SEC play.
The win was the Crimson Tide’s first-ever win in Norman, Oklahoma, as it lost the previous five contests it played in the city. Star guard Labaron Philon Jr. led all scorers with 23 points despite a rough start on offense.
Head coach Nate Oats said postgame that Philon has played well down the stretch this season, going back to the team’s 90-86 win over Illinois on Nov. 19.
Following Philon in scoring was center Aiden Sherrell for the second game running. He recorded his second-straight performance of 20 or more points for the first time in his career, scoring 21 points on an efficient 8/12 shooting and grabbing 9 rebounds.
“Our offense was 19 points better with him on the floor,” Oats said of Sherrell. “He impacts the game, both sides of the floor, really well.”
The Crimson Tide and Sooners were deadlocked for much of the first half, despite a poor shooting performance from Alabama. The team shot just 13/35 from the field and 4/19 from 3-point range in the opening period and committed 7 turnovers, after turning it over just 5 times in Tuesday’s 97-82 win over Mississippi State.
After Alabama tied the game at 33 apiece, Oklahoma mustered a commanding 11-0 run in the final 4:08 to firmly take control of the game. But the Crimson Tide — already accustomed to dealing with adversity — did not go away quietly.
Alabama punched back at Oklahoma immediately following halftime and quickly cut the Sooners’ lead to 1 point. Sherrell propelled the 10-0 run with 5 points, including a converted and-one opportunity.
The team took its first lead since the 8:33 mark in the first half when forward Amari Allen drilled a triple, which capped the team’s 15-2 run to open the second half. The Sooners quickly regained momentum, though, and took a 3-point lead to the first media timeout.
Sherrell continued to be a force in the paint in the second half, racking up 14 points on 5/7 from the floor. He also tallied two assists and a steal. He again powered a Crimson Tide run with a 7-point burst, as the team gathered a 4-point cushion with 11:03 remaining, its largest lead of the second half.
After several missed free throws and continued struggles from the field, Philon found rhythm and mustered a 6-0 run of his own on back-to-back made 3s, which tied the game at 73. Before Philon’s two made triples, the team had shot 7/29 from deep.
“He’s a gamer,” Oats said on Philon. “Obviously, he’s got to make his free throws, and he’s as upset as anybody with it, because he’s a competitor. I’m sure he’ll be in the gym quite a bit over this next week.”
Alabama took the lead with 1:53 left after guard Houston Mallette drained a 3-pointer, and the team never relinquished its advantage, despite Sooners guard Xzayvier Brown’s best efforts. Brown knocked down six straight free throws in the waning seconds but missed a game-tying free throw, which saw his team drop its fourth straight in SEC play.
“I’m gonna give coach [Porter] Moser, his staff and their whole program a ton of credit, because for a team to be on a three-game losing streak, with their back to the wall, they could’ve easily caved,” Oats said.
Alabama will return to action on Saturday, hosting No. 24 Tennessee at Coleman Coliseum. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT, and the game can be streamed on ESPN.
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