Alabama
7-2,0-0SEC
#20 North Carolina
4-4,0-0ACC
No. 10/12 Alabama Rolls Past No. 20/22 North Carolina, 94-79, in SEC/ACC Challenge
12/4/2024 9:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide defeats the Tar Heels by 15 points to capture a win in the Dean Dome
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The No. 10/12 Alabama men's basketball team picked up a dominant 94-79 road victory over No. 20/22 North Carolina Wednesday night in the SEC/ACC Challenge. The Crimson Tide played impressively from start-to-finish in picking up its third straight win over an Associated Press Top 25-ranked opponent this season.
Alabama (7-2) had six players score double figures led by Mark Sears' 20 points and game-high seven assists, while Aden Holloway and Labaron Philon each finished with 15 points. Clifford Omoruyi (11), Derrion Reid (11) and Grant Nelson (10) also reached double figures in the victory.
The Tar Heels (4-4) were led by Ian Jackson's game-high 23 points while RJ Davis added 18 in the losing effort.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"I thought our guys show a lot of toughness and resilience coming off a tough loss to Oregon and easily could have let that loss turn into two. I thought they got their minds right, ready to play and executed the defensive gameplan outside of transition buckets. I am super happy for these two guys (Houston Mallette and Labaron Philon) because Houston was unselfish enough to come off his redshirt and come in and we were plus-12 in his nine minutes, and he made two big three's. Jarin (Stevenson) was able to settle in and hit some big three's for us and did a great job on RJ Davis who is not easy to guard, he is one of the best guards in the country. For a kid that is supposed to be a freshman in college and 19 years old, I thought he (Stevenson) did a great job on RJ (Davis) as well as Houston and Derrion (Reid). Coach (Brian) Adams did a great job with the defensive gameplan and for the most part, we took care of the ball."
Team Stats
- Alabama picked up its 21st win over an AP Top-25 opponent under head coach Nate Oats
- UA won its third straight game when playing a top-25 opponent, defeating then-No. 25/20 Illinois (100-87 on Nov. 20) and then-No. 6/7 Houston (85-80 on Nov. 26) earlier this year
- North Carolina took a 2-0 before Alabama scored the game's next four points and never trailed again, leading for 36:32 of the contest
- Alabama finished the game going 12-13 (92.3 percent) from the charity stripe
- The Tide had 12 made three-pointers (12-33) on the night compared to just five by the Tar Heels (5-28)
- A Chapel Hill, N.C., native, Jarrin Stevenson finished with six points on a pair of three-pointers to go with three rebounds and a blocked shot in 16 minutes of action
- Clifford Omoruyi had a plus-minus of +25 to lead all players, finishing with 11 points, five rebounds two blocked shots and two assists in the win
- Houston Mallette made his season debut, finishing with six points on 2-of-2 shooting from deep and three boards in six minutes of action
First Half
- Aden Holloway (12 points) and Mark Sears (11 points) combined to score 23 of Alabama's 43 points in the first half
- The Crimson Tide's bench scored 20 points in the first half while UNC's added 19 points
- Sears was efficient to start the game, scoring 11 of Alabama's first 21 points
- Alabama went on a 16-6 run for nearly five and a half minutes midway through the first half to take a 31-18 lead
- North Carolina outscored Alabama 14-5 in fastbreak points
Second Half
- UNC trimmed the lead to five points early in the second half, however, Alabama went on a 9-0 run to take control of the contest
- The Tide shot 52 percent (9-17) in the first nine minutes of the half, jumping out to a 67-50 lead at the 11:17-mark
- Alabama took its largest lead of the game at the 10:17 mark, leading by 18 points (70-52)
- UA went on to shoot 52 percent (18-34) from the floor, 33 percent (5-15) from deep and hit 10 of its 11 free throws to seal the win (90.9 percent)
Up Next
- Alabama will have 10 days between games before it welcomes Creighton to Coleman Coliseum for a home game on Saturday, Dec. 14
- Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on the SEC Network
