Mark Sears on his performance to lead Alabama to the Final Four: 'It felt like my dream came true'
Mark Sears lived out a childhood dream Saturday as his second-half performance helped Alabama punch its first-ever ticket to the Final Four. The Crimson Tide guard seemingly couldn’t miss over the final 20 minutes in an 89-82 victory against Clemson, scoring 18 of his 23 points in the second.
Sears went 6-of-7 from 3-point range in the second half and made seven triples total in the contest, one short of tying his career high. That included a step back from beyond the arc to give Alabama an 82-75 victory with 1:17 remaining that drew applause from Crimson Tide alum Robert Horry.
Speaking postgame with Allie LaForce of CBS, Sears gave a passionate response when asked what the moment meant to him.
“I live for those moments,” he said. “This is what March Madness is about. When you’re a kid, you want to be in these moments. It felt like my dream came true today.”
Sears’ performance is even more impressive considering he went just 2-of-11 from the field in the first half. Alabama finished the game with 16 total made 3-pointers. Clemson had allowed a combined 14 in its three NCAA Tournament games prior.
It wasn’t all Mark Sears in the Alabama win, however. Nick Pringle also came up big with 16 points and 11 rebounds while Jarin Stevenson added 19 points off the bench. It all led to the first Final Four appearance in school history, and coach Nate Oats is proud of his group for making history.
“They’re good kids,” he said. “The chemistry came together. Fought through some adversity. Next has been our word for this tournament. Next play, next play. We had some adversity here. We got down big early and guys just hung in, hung in, hung in. Stuck with the plan. On defense, it’s been a lot better through this four-game run than it was in the regular season. We just finally got them to play how they’re capable of and this guy’s been leading the whole way.”
Sears was named the Most Outstanding Player from the South Region following his performance Saturday, but he knows his work isn’t done yet. The Crimson Tide are next set to face defending national champion UConn on Saturday with a trip to the title on the line.
“The hard work always pays off,” Sears said. “Hard work is undefeated, man. I wouldn’t be here without the hard work because look at me. I’m 6’1. I ain’t got the potential like I did in high school and all these young guys in high school. But hard work is always undefeated.”