Alabama
Georgia
Five Score in Double Figures to Lead No. 4/4 Alabama Past Georgia, 90-69
2/1/2025 6:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Mark Sears led five Crimson Tide players in double digits with 20 points in the win
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 4/4 Alabama Men's Basketball team extended its winning streak to five straight with a convincing 90-69 over Georgia in front of a soldout crowd inside Coleman Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.Â
Mark Sears collected his 13th game of 20 or more points this season, as he led the The Crimson Tide (19-3, 8-1 SEC) with a game high 20 points to go along with six assists and five boards. Grant Nelson secured his team-leading sixth double-double in the win, finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds and a career high five blocks. Aiden Sherrell (12), Aden Holloway (10) and Chris Youngblood (10) also scored in double figures in the victory.Â
Georgia (15-7, 3-6 SEC) was led by Asa Newell, who scored 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting, to go along with seven rebounds.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"Unbelievable effort from our guys, really the effort we've been looking for outside of the start to the second half. You take that four minutes out, which I wasn't really happy with that effort, but the other 36 minutes, I thought we played really hard. Outrebounded a really good team by 16 and still scored 20 even though we had 20 turnovers. Now, we've got to fix the turnovers. Obviously, it's a major problem, and 12 of those 20 were from three of our fifth-year seniors, which shouldn't be the case, but I thought those guys kind of set the tone.
I thought that was the hardest Mark Sears has played. He had some turnovers but he sprinted back and made tough plays on defense. He didn't sulk, didn't pout. His leadership and the effort he gave tonight really helped set the tone for how the team is supposed to look.
So, if we can take that mentality and that effort on the defensive end and clean up the offense, we've got something ahead in the right direction going in the second half of conference play."
Team Stats
- The win marked head coach Nate Oats' 70th win in SEC competition
- Alabama shot 30-of-57 (53 percent) from the field, 11-of-26 (42 percent) from deep and 19-of-23 (83 percent) from the stripe
- Conversely, Georgia shot 27-76 (36 percent) from the floor, 4-of-23 (17 percent) from beyond the arc and 11-of-23 (49 percent) from the free throw line
- The Tide dominated inside the paint, outrebounding the Bulldogs 52-36 with two players finishing with double-digit boards (Grant Nelson 10, Clifford Omoruyi 11)
- Alabama assisted on 17 of its 30 made field goalsÂ
- Nelson became the only SEC player this season with 16 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in fewer than 30 minutes
- Aiden Sherrell set new career-best marks with 12 points and two made three-pointers, with 10 of his points coming in the first 10 minutes of the contest
- Mark Sears moved to No. 12 on Alabama's all-time scoring list with 1,658 career points, surpassing JaMychal Green
First HalfÂ
- A fast-paced start to the contest led to an exchange of turnovers and baskets, with the score deadlocked at 10-10 at the 14:38 mark
- The Crimson Tide went on a 14-0 run over the next 4:30 minutes to open a 24-10 lead after the 12-minute media timeout
- The run was propelled by efficient shooting, as Alabama connected on 4-of-5 shots from three-point rangeÂ
- Georgia responded with an 8-0 run of its own to cut the Alabama advantage to 24-18
- After a back-and-forth ending to the half, Alabama converted on six straight free throws to take a 39-28 lead into the breakÂ
- The Tide's defense held Georgia to just 10-of-37 shooting (27 percent) from the floor in the half
- UA owned the glass in the first 20 minutes, owning a 30-19 rebounding advantage, tied for the team's best first-half rebounding margin against an SEC opponent (Oklahoma, 11)
Second HalfÂ
- The second half opened similarly to the first, with the teams scoring a combined 23 points before the first media timeout
- After a technical foul was assessed to Georgia, Alabama used a 7-0 run over 58 seconds to extend its lead to 59-43, forcing the Bulldogs to call a timeout with 12:58 to play
- Over the next five minutes, Alabama slowly opened a 25-point advantage, making 8-of-10 field goal attempts during the stretch
- The Tide's efficient shooting continued in the game's final minutes, hitting 5-of-7 shots to end the game
- UA shot 19-of-31 (61 percent) in the frame and 14-of-19 (74 percent) from inside the arc
- After scoring 10 points in the paint in the first half, the Crimson Tide scored 28 points in the paint in the second
- Grant Nelson and Mark Sears combined to score Alabama's first 15 points of the half, and finished with a combined 24 of the Tide's 51 second half points  Â
Up Next
- Alabama will have a week off before returning to action on Saturday, Feb. 8, at ArkansasÂ
- Tipoff between the Crimson Tide and the Razorbacks is set for 7 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN
