Alabama
3-2,0-0SEC
#12 Gonzaga
6-0,0-0WCC
No. 8/9 Alabama Falls to No. 12/10 Gonzaga 95-85 in Players Era Festival Opener
11/25/2025 12:13:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Tide dropped a back-and-forth affair to the Bulldogs that saw 11 lead changes
LAS VEGAS – The No. 8/9 Alabama men's basketball team opened the Players Era Festival with a 95-85 loss to the No. 12/10 Gonzaga Bulldogs, Monday night inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The contest featured eight ties and 11 lead changes before a late run allowed the Bulldogs to secure the win.
Labaron Philon Jr. shined for the Crimson Tide (3-2) as the reigning SEC Player of the Week finished his night with a career-high 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting to go along with seven assists and a pair of steals.
The Tide had three others in double figures, including Amari Allen (14 points), Aiden Sherrell (14 points) and Aden Holloway (13 points). Allen, who was named the SEC Freshman of the Week, led Alabama's bench which contributed 27 points throughout the night.
Gonzaga (6-0) was led offensively by Tyon Grant-Foster and Graham Ike who finished with 21 points apiece. The duo combined for 42 points and 18 rebounds to help the Bulldogs remain unbeaten.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame CommentsÂ
"I have to give Gonzaga a lot of credit. They played hard and they played physical. They made a run and we didn't answer. Obviously, they're one of the better programs in the country over the last 15-20 years. They figure out how to win games and they're doing it on the offensive rebounds. We gave up 25 second chance points; it's hard to win doing that. That's a season-high offensive rebounds for them. The two big games we've won, we outrebounded St. John's and we won the game. Against Illinois, we only lost the rebound battle by two, and we won the game. Tonight, we lose the glass by 12, lost the turnover battle and we ended up losing the game to a pretty good team."
"We emphasize that our guards have to rebound it better. Holloway ended up with three and Labaron ended up with zero. It's not just our bigs, it's everybody. Everyone has to contribute and we're not a tough, physical rebounding team right now and until we get that way, we're going to have a hard time consistently beating the best teams in the country."
Team StatsÂ
- Gonzaga won the rebound battle 48-36, including a season-high 20 offensive rebounds that resulted in 25 second chance points, outscoring the Crimson Tide by 15 in the category (25-10)
- Keitenn Bristow pulled down a season-high 11 rebounds off the bench, and added seven points in his 19 minutes of action           Â
- Aiden Sherrell tallied a career-high 14 points to go with a game-high three blocks against the Bulldogs, shooting 6-of-9 from the field
- Both teams struggled to convert from three-point range as Gonzaga shot 6-for-22 (27.3 percent) from deep and Alabama shot 9-for-29 (31.0 percent)
First Half Â
- Alabama led for a majority of the opening half as the Tide held the lead for 14:36 with its biggest advantage at six points (21-15) at the 10:10 mark
- The Crimson Tide defense forced Gonzaga to shoot 3-for-15 to open the game, but gave up 8 offensive rebounds in the first 6:33 of the half
- Gonzaga managed to close the half on a 19-11 run through the last 6:31 of the half to enter the break ahead 45-42
- Overall, the period saw seven lead changes and was tied on seven different occurrences
- The Bulldogs controlled the boards 22-18 at the half, with 11 of Gonzaga's rebounds coming on the offensive glass which resulting in 13 second chance points
- Alabama was led offensively by Labaron Philon Jr's 13 points in the first half, shooting 5-for-8 from the field, along with a pair of steals
- Both squads struggled to get going from beyond the arc, with Alabama shooting 3-for-14 in the half and Gonzaga shooting 3-for-12
Second Half Â
- Gonzaga took the early advantage in the second half, opening the frame with a 12-4 run to take a 57-48 lead at the 16:12 mark
- However, Alabama responded by holding the Bulldogs scoreless for just over four minutes (15:02-10:57) as the Tide went on a 10-0 run during the span to retake the lead, 61-60, at the under-12 media timeout
- After both squads fought back and forth down the stretch, Gonzaga went on a 17-6 run from 7:34-2:47 (4:47) to take its largest lead of the contest (86-74), and was able to hang on until the final buzzer
- Once again, Nate Oats' squad was led by Philon in the half, scoring 16 points off 6-for-10 shooting to go along with five assists
- The Bulldogs held the advantage on the glass in the second half, 26-18, with nine of Gonzaga's rebounds coming on the offensive end which resulted in 12 second-chance points
- Alabama's reserves outscored Gonzaga 15-8 in the second half, with Allen and London Jemison accounting for 13 of those points
Up NextÂ
- Alabama will play its second game in the Players Era Festival against UNLV on Tuesday night
- Tipoff is set for 11 p.m. CT inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena and can be seen on TNT
