No. 6 Alabama avoids disaster, survives road trip to North Dakota
No. 6 Alabama basketball nearly suffered one of the worst upsets of the college basketball season on Wednesday night, but narrowly escaped North Dakota on the road by a final score of 97-90.
Nate Oats changed up the starting lineup once again, starting four players 6-foot-8 or taller. The Crimson Tide started the game with Mark Sears, Derrion Reid, Jarin Stevenson, Grant Nelson and Cliff Omoruyi.
The game was a homecoming for Nelson, who is from the state of North Dakota and played his first three years at North Dakota State before transferring to Alabama. The game was played in Grand Forks, just over an hour away from his hometown of Devils Lake, allowing plenty of his family and friends to see him play live.
HOW IT HAPPENED
North Dakota started the game with a ton of energy, jumping out to an early 11-8 lead at the first media timeout of the game. The Crimson Tide looked uncomfortable offensively, missing four free throws and turning it over three times in the opening minutes.
The Fighting Hawks continued to hit shots early as Alabama looked timid offensively, settling for looks and starting the game 0-of-8 from three. North Dakota built the lead up to seven points at the under-12 timeout.
Alabama went on a run to turn a 9-point deficit down to a 2-point deficit thanks to some shooting from Chris Youngblood and some nice finishes from Nelson. Despite the comeback, Alabama was never able to fully take the lead back, and trailed the Fighting Hawks by three at the break.
The Crimson Tide turned the ball over 13 times in the first half, limiting any type of offensive rhythm. It also shot just 5-of-18 from the 3-point line in the first frame, while North Dakota was 6-of-19 from deep.
Alabama opened the second half with a nice start offensively, making three 3-pointers to nearly match its entire total from the first half. It didn’t get many stops, though, and trailed by one point at the under-16 after outscoring North Dakota 11-9 over the first four minutes.
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Alabama finally found some rhythm with an 11-0 run, started by a Sears three off a Nelson offensive rebound. The Crimson Tide pushed the pace off defensive stops, and Philon had some nice finishes inside to push the lead out to nine, prompting a North Dakota timeout.
North Dakota got back in it with some unbelievable shotmaking from Treysen Eaglestaff, who scored over 30 points in the game. His shotmaking from both midrange and beyond the arc kept the Alabama lead at just five points at the under-8 timeout.
The Fighting Hawks kept fighting back, and tied the game at 78 with just over four minutes remaining as they continued to make guarded shot after guarded shot. Mallette’s effort and hustle plays gave Alabama a slight lead headed into the under-4 timeout.
Though North Dakota tied the game a few times under four minutes to go, Alabama never surrendered the lead and came out with the win.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Grant Nelson – 23 points, 10 rebounds
Mark Sears – 23 points, 5 assists
Labaron Philon – 16 points
Houston Mallette – 10 points, 5 rebounds
WHAT’S NEXT
Alabama will be back at home this Sunday to face Kent State, one of the better teams in the MAC. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. CT and will air on SEC Network.
