Alabama visited Oklahoma today and survived with a hard fought 83-81 victory.
This one started out fast, as both teams came out firing. It was 12-12 at the first four-minute timeout and a fun one seemed
to be brewing. Per usual, Labaron Philon was keying things on offense for the Tide. On defense, Alabama struggled to keep Oklahoma off the offensive glass, which has been a recurring issue for this team. Tae Davis and Derrion Reid kept the Sooners in the game with second chance points, but with just over nine minutes left in the half Alabama managed to grab a five point lead at 26-21.
Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there.
The Tide missed a few consecutive three pointers, and as we have seen too often, that seemed to affect their energy on both ends of the court. Oklahoma smelled blood in the water and dominated the last four minutes of the half, finishing on an 11-0 run to lead 44-33 at the break. Alabama shot 21% from three, lost the rebounding battle 26-20, and turned the ball over seven times while forcing only four. Other than that, everything went great.
Alabama was able to flip the script in a big way to open the second half. They went on a 10-0 run of their own in less than two minutes, keyed by a dunk and putback from Aiden Sherrell sandwiched around a Houston Mallette three. Aden Holloway got a runout off a steal to cap it off, and Oklahoma coach Porter Moser called a quick timeout while nursing a one point lead. It was clear that Oats identified the interior as an area to exploit and adjusted at the break, as Sherrell was featured in the second half.
Another runout, this time for Philon, extended the run to 12 before Oklahoma answered. Of all people, Mo Wague hit a three pointer at around the 16 minute mark, then Reid made a free throw to put the Sooners back up by four. Things went back and forth from there. Alabama helped Oklahoma’s cause by missing several free throws in succession to go with the poor three point shooting.
Reid went down after landing awkwardly off of a dunk. Shortly thereafter, Taylor Bol Bowen aggravated the hand injury that he had been struggling with. With four minutes to play, Oklahoma led by six.
Philon has come up big in key moments time after time, and true to form he hit back-to-back threes to tie the game at 73 with 3:09 to play. A Philon turnover led to a runout for the Sooners, but Houston Mallette answered with a huge three from the corner off a Sherrell assist for a one point lead. That’s where things stood with a minute to play.
Oklahoma guard Xzayvier Brown tried to go to the hole, but Sherrell was there to alter the shot and come down with the rebound. Philon answered with a drive of his own for a three point play, and the Tide led by four with 20 seconds left. A pair of free throws drew the Sooners back within two, and Reid was able to return to the game. Mallette was fouled but, in a recurring theme, made only one of two to keep Oklahoma alive, down three.
Nate Oats made the decision to foul Brown rather than allow a potential three point attempt. He made both to pull within one. Aden Holloway was then fouled to extend the game and made both. Oats decided to foul again, but this time Philon got Brown, allegedly anyway, as he was gathering the ball 40 feet from the basket. Brown heaved it off the backboard and the officials awarded him three shots.
Perhaps that was a “ball don’t lie” moment, as any continuation rule that would apply in that instance is patently absurd. He missed one, but Alabama couldn’t handle the prosperity. Amari Allen was fouled and missed one of two for a 83-81 lead. Moser called timeout with 3.9 seconds to play, and Alabama was sweating.
Oklahoma’s best three point shooter, Nijel Pack, got one off from NBA range but thankfully missed, and Alabama survived. Philon led all scorers with 23. Sherrell added 21 with nine rebounds, 14 of his points coming after the break. The Tide managed to score 83 points on the road and win despite shooting only 30% from three and 58% from the line, which is a good news/bad news scenario.
A win is a win, especially on the road. Alabama is now 3-2 and will have a week to rest before Tennessee comes to town next Saturday.
Roll Tide.
