Alabama
9-2,0-0SEC
North Dakota
4-9,0-0Summit League
Nelson’s Double-Double Lifts No. 6/7 Alabama Past North Dakota, 97-90
12/18/2024 10:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide’s come-from-behind victory was its sixth win over the last seven contests
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Senior Grant Nelson recorded his third double-double of the year to lead No. 6/7 Alabama past a feisty North Dakota squad, 97-90, Wednesday night in front of a hostile sold-out crowd at the Betty Engleman Sioux Center. The Crimson Tide (9-2) trailed by as many nine points midway through the first half but scored 62 second half points and outscored the Fighting Hawks by 10 (62-52) to pull out the victory.
Nelson, a native of Devils Lake, N.D., finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots in his homecoming game to pace five UA players in double figures. Mark Sears matched Nelson with 23 points and a game-high five assists, while Labaron Philon (16), Chris Youngblood (10) and Houston Mallette (10) each scoring in double figures off the bench.
The Fighting Hawks (4-9) were led by Treysen Eaglestaff's career-high 40 points in the losing effort.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"North Dakota obviously came ready to play tonight and I thought our guys would be ready. We came off a pretty tough seven-game stretch and played some good teams but give North Dakota a lot of credit, they wanted this game, they were ready for it, the crowd was great and our guys didn't really come out ready to play. Our matchup on (Treysen) Eaglestaff wasn't great to start and I don't think we ever found the correct matchup because he ended with 40 points. That was the best individual performance anybody has had on us all year easily. We got some improvements we need to make and particularly on the defensive end. I thought Grant (Nelson) played well coming back home with 23 points and 10 rebounds."
Team Stats
- The contest featured seven ties and five lead changes with North Dakota leading for 20:51 and Alabama holding the lead for 16:10
- Alabama's bench outscored North Dakota's reserves, 42-26
- The Tide dominated inside the paint, finishing with a 44-35 edge on the boards and a 44-22 advantage in points in the paint
- UA shot 52 percent (33-63) from the field and 32 percent (11-34) from deep, while North Dakota finished at 43 percent (33-76) shooting from the floor and 41 percent (17-41) from beyond the arc
- The Tide held a 21-4 edge in fast break points
- After committing 13 first half turnovers, Alabama had just one miscue in the second half
- Grant Nelson, who played three seasons at North Dakota State before transferring to Alabama, recorded his third double-double of the year and 30th of his career
- Houston Mallette grabbed a career-high four of Alabama's 16 offensive rebounds to close the contest with 10 points and five boards
- Mallette led the team with plus/minus of +18 in his 18 minutes of action to lead all players
First Half
- Alabama's trio of Grant Nelson, Mark Sears and Chris Youngblood led the way in the first half with eight points apiece
- The Tide outrebounded the Fighting Hawks 20-17
- North Dakota shot 50 percent (8-16) in the first nine minutes of the game, jumping out to a 19-12 lead
- Alabama was able to go on a 7-0 run that spanned just over two minutes which cut the North Dakota's lead to one (29-28)
- The Tide committed four turnovers in the final three and a half minutes of the half and went into the break trailing 38-35
- North Dakota's Treysen Eaglestaff led all scorers with 14 points in the first half
Second Half
- Early in the half Alabama went on an 13-0 run to take a 58-47 lead at the 13:18-mark
- Alabama took its largest lead of the contest at 11, 58-47, at the 13:18 mark
- The Fighting Hawks stormed back to tie the game twice inside the final five minutes
- With the contest tied at 85-85 at the 2:15 mark, the Tide scored six consecutive points to take a 91-85 lead with 35 seconds left to play
- Eaglestaff continued to stay hot, scoring 26 points in the half on 9-16 shooting from the floor and 6-11 from three-point range
- Both Nelson and Sears each had 15 points in the half to lead the Tide, combining to shoot 9-17 from the field and 10-12 from the charity stripe
Up Next
- Alabama will begin a three-game homestand including its two final non-conference games, beginning with Kent State on Sunday, Dec. 22
- Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. CT and will be televised on the SEC Network
