No. 9 Alabama outlasts Rutgers to advance to Players Era championship
No. 9 Alabama won its third game in a row late Wednesday night, beating a tough Rutgers team by a final score of 95-90. The win is Alabama’s second in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, moving the Crimson Tide to the championship game of the tournament on Saturday.
Alabama went with the same starting lineup for the third game in a row, starting Mark Sears, Latrell Wrightsell, Labaron Philon, Grant Nelson, and Rutgers transfer Cliff Omoruyi in the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Rutgers is led by two star freshmen in Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, and the duo jumped out of the gate scoring the first two buckets for the Scarlet Knights. Their talent was very apparent, making it no secret why they’re both projected to be top-10 picks in the NBA Draft. Rutgers found some success inside in the opening minutes, holding a lead at the game’s first media timeout.
It quickly became very apparent that both of these teams played overtime games last night. The game started extremely sloppy, with Alabama totaling six turnovers in the first eight minutes of the game.
Alabama built a 6-point lead midway through the first half with a 9-0 run, but it didn’t last long as more turnovers led to Rutgers getting right back in the game, with Bailey making some huge plays for the Scarlet Knights.
The game continued to go back and forth until halftime, with Alabama committing far too many fouls on the defensive end and missing far too many free throws. All the Crimson Tide’s issues in the first half were fixable, but those self-inflicted errors made it a tie game at halftime.
The second half started with a lot of scoring. Over the first four minute period, Alabama outscored Rutgers 15-12, taking a 3-pont lead into the first media timeout of the half off a stepback three from Sears. Sears scored 10 points in the first four minutes of the second half.
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As the middle of the second half approached, Alabama started to push its lead out a bit. The Crimson Tide led by eight points at the under-12, taking better care of the ball in the second half compared to the first, plus some nice plays from Nelson and Omoruyi.
Rutgers continued to hang around through the second half, with Alabama being unable to fully put the Scarlet Knights away. Jarin Stevenson knocked down two threes, his first two makes from distance of the season, but Rutgers continued to push back into the game thanks to some heroics from Harper.
Alabama responded to Rutgers’ punch with a 7-0 run to push the lead back out, fueled by some nice defensive stops and aided greatly by Sears entering the game again after dealing with foul trouble. Sears continued to make his impact on the game both finishing at the rim and at the free throw line.
Alabama took an 8-point lead into the final media timeout, but Rutgers went on another 7-0 run to cut it to just one point with two minutes to go.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Mark Sears — 24 points, 5 assists
Grant Nelson — 17 points, 9 rebounds
Mo Dioubate — 10 points 9 rebounds
WHAT’S NEXT
Alabama has advanced to the championship game of the Players Era Festival, and will play Oregon at 8:30 p.m. CT on Saturday.
