No. 13 Alabama secures overtime win over No. 24 Florida
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 13 Alabama topped No. 24 Florida, 98-93, in overtime Wednesday night at Coleman Coliseum. The victory extended the Crimson Tide’s home winning streak against SEC foes to 16 games, as Alabama advanced to 19-7 (11-2 SEC) on the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Alabama was without starting guard Latrell Wrightsell on Wednesday, as the senior missed the game with a head injury. Freshman Jarin Stevenson started at the four spot alongside Grant Nelson, who scored the Crimson Tide’s first seven points of the night. The teams exchanged buckets through the first 10 minutes before Florida went on a 7-0 run to take a 27-20 lead before the under-8 media timeout. After a 1-17 start from three, Rylan Griffen hit a much-needed triple with 2:32 left in the first half to make it a 2-point game, but Florida closed out the first 20 minutes by taking 41-37 halftime lead to the visiting locker room.
Alabama opened the second half by scoring four straight points, but the Gators responded by making their sixth 3-pointer. Trailing by seven after the under-16 timeout, the Tide went on an 8-2 run, with Nick Pringle accounting for six of those points, to cut the UF lead to 55-54 with 13:35 to play. Florida answered with an 8-point flurry to take its largest lead up to that point, but Sam Walters fought back with back-to-back 3s. Every UA response was matched with a counter from the Gators, which took a 10-point lead, 72-62, with 8:40 to go.
However, the Tide used a 15-4 run over the next 4:15 to take its first lead since the 11:47 mark of the first half. A 10-point barrage was capped by a Mark Sears three that gave Alabama a 77-76 edge with 4:25 left on the game clock. A pair of Sears free throws tied the game at 85-85 with under a minute to play, and the Tide defense made back-to-back stops to give its offense a chance on the final possession of regulation. Sears got a decent look at the rim, but his shot was unable to fall, sending the game to overtime – UA’s first this year.
To begin the extra period, the Tide scored the first seven points, which led to a timeout from Florida head coach Todd Golden. After that, UF scored four straight at the free-throw line and used an 8-2 run to make it a 1-point game at 94-93 with 35 seconds left. But Aaron Estrada made a clutch layup, UA secured a rebound on the opposite end and Sears made a pair of free throws to seal the overtime victory. Estrada (6 points), Griffen (5) and Sears (2) scored all 13 of Alabama’s points in overtime to help lead Alabama to its third straight win.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Six Crimson Tide players scored in double figures, including two that topped 20 points. Nelson led Alabama with 22 points and eight rebounds and also accounted for six of the team’s eight blocked shots. Estrada also tallied eight rebounds to go along with 20 points. Sears (17 points), Walters (14), Pringle and Griffen (10) also scored in double figures. Walters led the squad with four 3s on seven attempts. Pringle fouled out of the game but had 13 points and eight boards. Florida was led by guard Walter Clayton Jr., who scored 27 points.
KEY STATS
Nate Oats placed an emphasis on the glass before the game, and Alabama outrebounded Florida, 54-44, and finished with four more offensive rebounds (21-17). The Tide also ended up with 16 more points in the paint (56-40). The two teams shot similar percentages from the floor – 43 percent for Florida and 44 percent for Alabama – but the Gators shot 30 percent from deep compared to 25 percent for the Tide. After a 1-17 start, UA ended the game 7-15 from three. Both teams finished with less than 10 turnovers (Alabama 8, Florida 9).
QUOTE FROM OATS
“Shoot, that was a wild game. I’m still not quite sure how we figured out how to win it, but I told our guys, sometimes when you play bad, you’ve got to figure out ways to win games and I thought we figured it out. I’d have to go back and look at the film, but a couple plays that come to mind – we needed Sam (Walters) to hit the big 3s, and it wasn’t just the 3s he hit. He got a tip on a big possession late in the game that kept the ball alive for Aaron (Estrada) to go in and get the putback. Aaron almost had a triple-double. He finished with 20, eight with five O boards coming from the guard spot. That was big. I thought this was probably Grant (Nelson)’s best game. The three he hit in the corner was huge, but the six blocks were bigger because our defense, again, was not good. We’ve got to figure this thing out better and we’ve got to do a better job on it.
“But we’re figuring out ways to win. If you’re going to win the league championship, which we’re obviously in the hunt now for with five games left, these are the games that you’ve got to figure out ways to win even when you don’t play well. I mean, we were 2-of-18 from three at the half, and we were within striking distance – it was only four points. And then we got down bigger. I know we were down 10 at some point late in the game – eight minutes, somewhere in there – and we figured out a win. We came to the huddle, kind of like Georgia, we said, ‘Listen, man. We’re going to figure out a way to win this game. We’re going to make some big plays.’”
WHAT’S NEXT
Alabama will travel to Lexington, Ky., on Saturday, Feb. 24, to face the No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats. The top-20 matchup is scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m. CT and will air on CBS.
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