No. 24 Alabama Basketball Defeats Georgia 85-76 In Comeback Fashion
ATHENS, Ga. — A comeback for the ages.
On Wednesday, No. 24 Alabama Basketball defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 85-76, coming back from a 16-point first half deficit.
It was a heroic effort from Alabama guard and SEC player of the year frontrunner Mark Sears, who posted 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out five assists.
Joining Sears with an electric performance was Crimson Tide forward Grant Nelson, who had 20 points of his own on 8-for-11 shooting, drilling two clutch three-pointers in the final minutes to secure the victory on the road.
In the first half, Nate Oats' team was outrebounded 27-7, the largest first half margin since Oats' arrival in 2019. However, it didn't take long for the Crimson Tide to get it going in the second half, out rebounding the Bulldogs by seven in the second half.
"They came out of the gate ready to play, we did not," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. "We missed some shots and it affected how we play offense. I thought we got away from what made us good. They killed us on the glass. I didn't think we played hard enough, they played a lot harder than us."
While Oats wasn’t pleased with his team’s first half effort, a late-game rally fostered feelings of gratification.
"I can't say enough about our guys in the second half,” Oats said. “They showed some fight, they showed what they're about."
Live Updates:
Second Half:
- Marks Sears drains another three and draws the foul after getting the rebound on the other end. Wow. Incredible effort by the SEC player of the year front runner down the stretch of this game. Alabama: 69 | Georgia: 66, 3:40 2H
- Mark Sears and Rylan Griffen drain back-to-back threes. Grant Nelson converts the tip-in. The Georgia crowd is stunned. Georgia: 66 | Alabama: 66, 4:20 2H
- Abdul-Rahim and Demary Jr drain both sets of one-and-one free throws after Rylan Griffen goes on a five point scoring run of his own. Georgia: 63 | Alabama: 58, 6:17 2H
- Tchewa converts a layup, but Sears and Griffen each answer with buckets of their own on the other end. The Crimson Tide continue to fight back. Georgia: 59 | Alabama: 51, 8:09 2H
- Media Timeout: Melendez throws down a thunderous dunk. The Georgia crowd roars. Sears follows it up with a quick bucket over contact. Blue Cain drills a jumper of his own for the Bulldogs, and Sears once again answers with a three. Georgia: 57 | Alabama: 47, 10:15 2H
- Stevenson converts a layup. Dioubate nails a free throw, follows his own miss on the back end of a one-and-one, and converts a layup of his own. Alabama has cut the Bulldog lead to single digits. Demary Jr. gets a layup but can't convert the three-point play. Georgia: 51 | Alabama: 42, 12:23 2H
- Timeout UGA: Nelson converts a layup. Tchewa answers with one of his own. Griffen fires back with a mid-range jumper and Estrada finishes a crafty layup with his right hand. Georgia: 45 | Alabama: 35, 16:06 2H
- Timeout ALA: Melendez converts both free throws on the previous possession for the Bulldogs. Georgia: 43 | Alabama: 29, 17:51 2H
- Mark Sears gets the first bucket of the second half for Alabama. Georgia: 41 | Alabama: 29, 18:52 2H
- Georgia turns the ball over to start the second half. We're underway.
Halftime Stats:
First Half:
- Half concludes, but not before Thomasson drains a mid-range jumper. Georgia: 41 | Alabama: 27, 0:00 1H
- Melendez converts two dunks, while DeLoach converts a pair of free throws. Wrightsell Jr. buries a three. Dioubate nails the front end of a one-and-one. Georgia: 39 | Alabama: 25, 1:00 1H
- Coming into tonight, Georgia ranked 238th in the country in offensive rebound percentage. 259th in defensive rebound percentage. They're currently beating Alabama on the boards 23-5.
- Media Timeout: Aaron Estrada buries the first three-pointer of the game for the Crimson Tide. They were 0-for-9 previously. Georgia answers with another three from Thommason. Georgia: 33 | Alabama: 21, 3:26 1H
- The Bulldogs' three-point onslaught continues as Thomasson drains another. This time, however, the Crimson Tide respond with a pair of buckets from Nelson and Griffen. Georgia: 30 | Alabama: 18, 5:03 1H
- Media Timeout: Blue Cain drills a three for the Bulldogs. They're shooting 50% from beyond the arc (5-for-10). Georgia: 25 | Alabama: 12, 7:45 1H
- Sears converts a layup, Dioubate makes a tough finish below the basket, Nelson floats one in. Georgia: 22 | Alabama: 12, 8:11 1H
- Mohamed Dioubate stops the bleeding for Alabama with a quick two. Georgia: 17 | Alabama: 4, 11:11 1H
- Five turnovers for Alabama so far. They're shooting 11% from the floor. Bulldogs are on a 13-0 run with the Crimson Tide's 5:54 scoring drought.
- Two early fouls from Mohamed Wague. They can't afford to lose him or Grant Nelson to foul trouble with Nick Pringle's absence. R.J. Melendez and Blue Cain drill back-to-back threes. Crimson Tide look stunned. Georgia: 17 | Alabama: 2, 11:57 1H
- Alabama is showing some active hands early, particularly from Mark Sears. Bulldogs are having a hard time putting it on the floor. Georgia: 9 | Alabama: 2, 14:12 1H
- Media Timeout: Bulldogs have scored on each of their last three possessions, with Abul-Rahim burying a deep three as the catalyst. Sears has the only points for the Crimson Tide. Georgia: 9 | Alabama: 2, 15:57 1H
- Early fouls on the first possession committed by Rylan Griffen and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. Abdul-Rahim buries both free throws. Georgia: 2 | Alabama: 0, 18:06 1H
- First tip goes to Georgia by the way of Russell Tchewa. We're underway in Athens.
Pregame:
- Starting Five: Mark Sears, Aaron Estrada, Latrell Wrightsell Jr., Rylan Griffen, Grant Nelson.
- Georgia's Silas Demary Jr. and Justin Hill are questionable for tonight's game.
- Nate Oats on the CTSN pregame show: "Definitely a little bit of pressure being on top, on the road in a place we haven't played particularly well in the past."
- Alabama guard Davin Cosby Jr. is OUT with the flu, per the Crimson Tide Radio Network.
- Stevenson and Griffen have arrived. No sign of Pringle yet.
- No sign of Rylan Griffen, Nick Pringle and Jarin Stevenson pregame.
How to Watch: Alabama at Georgia
Who: Alabama (14-6, 6-1 SEC) at Georgia (14-6, 4-3 SEC)
When: Wednesday, January 31, 5:30 p.m. CT
Where: Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, Georgia
TV: SEC Network
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Analyst: Bryan Passink). The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.
Series: Alabama leads, 99-53
Last Meeting: On February 18, 2023, Alabama obliterated Georgia in Coleman Coliseum by a final score of 108-59. Brandon Miller led the Crimson Tide with 21 points, while Nick Pringle came off the bench to add 19.
Last Time Out, Alabama: On Saturday, the Crimson Tide defeated LSU 109-88 to move to 6-1 in SEC play on the season. Mark Sears led all scorers in the game with 21 points.
Last Time Out, Georgia: On Saturday, the Bulldogs fell on the road to Florida 102-98 in overtime. Georgia trailed by as many as 21 points in the second half, but stormed back to forced overtime, though the comeback fell short.
Georgia's RJ Melendez exploded for 35 points in the loss, making 13-of-19 shots from the field.
Alabama Leaders:
- Scoring: Mark Sears (20.0 PPG)
- Rebounding: Grant Nelson (6.0 RPG)
- Assists: Aaron Estrada (4.0 APG)
Georgia Leaders:
- Scoring: G Jabri Abdur-Rahim (13.4 PPG)
- Rebounding: C Russel Tchewa (5.8 RPG)
- Assists: G Justin Hill (3.7)
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