No. 5 Alabama Basketball went on the road and picked up a big win over No. 10 Texas A&M, winning 94-88 in an extremely physical battle from the opening tip to the final buzzer.

Alabama used the same starting unit it used throughout SEC play: Mark Sears, Labaron Philo, Jarin Stevenson, Grant Nelson And Cliff Omoruyi.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Alabama started the game strong, especially getting great minutes from Stevenson. He scored five points, matching his season average, and recorded a block in the first four minutes of the game, with the Crimson Tide taking an 8-3 lead at the first media timeout thanks to solid defensive play.

Alabama’s shooters got off to a good start Aden Holloway And Chris Youngblood He came off the bench and shot one three-pointer each. However, the story of the first quarter of the game was the number of fouls. By the U12 timeout, 13 fouls had already been called, eight of them against Alabama.

Texas A&M continued to play an extremely physical game, and Alabama handled it quite well. Omoruyi had a good opening quarter of the game, leading all players with six rebounds at the U8 timeout.

Alabama put together a fantastic three-pointer in the first half, but was whistled for one defensive foul after another. The number of fouls called allowed Texas A&M to stay in the game and keep it close by shooting over 20 free throws in the first half alone.

Sears had a tremendous performance in the first half, hitting back-to-back three-pointers to maintain Alabama’s lead as the game came to a close. The Tide went into halftime with a 52-44 lead, made ten three-pointers in the first half but allowed 26 opposing free throw attempts.

The second half got off to a difficult start as Omoruyi was ruled out with an ankle injury. Alabama continued to battle the sloppiness and physicality of the game early in the second half, maintaining a 7-point lead at the first media timeout of the half.

The Crimson Tide continued to fight throughout the remainder of the second half, extending the lead to double digits at the U12 timeout. Youngblood then went on an 8-0 run to extend Alabama’s lead to 15 points, which led to a Buzz Williams timeout with 10 minutes left in the game.

Alabama’s defense kept the Aggies at bay in the second half, maintaining the 15-point lead it built as the game neared its conclusion. But the Aggies responded after a half of offensive struggles, scoring a quick 7-0 win to cut the lead back to single digits with just under six minutes to play.

The Aggies continued to fight and cut the lead even further thanks to a few Alabama turnovers, with the Tide only holding an 83-78 lead with three minutes to play.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH

Mark Sears – 27 points, 4 assists

Aden Holloway – 15 points, 3 3pm

Chris Youngblood – 14 points, 5 rebounds

WHAT’S NEXT

The SEC challenge continues as No. 23 Ole Miss will come to Coleman Coliseum for the Crimson Tide’s third game against a ranked team in the last four contests. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on ESPNU.

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