Alabama
23-6,12-4SEC
#5 Tennessee
24-5,11-5SEC
No. 6/6 Alabama Loses on Buzzer Beater at No. 5/5 Tennessee
3/1/2025 6:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide drops a heartbreaker after leading for a majority of the contest
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 6/6 Alabama men's basketball team fell on a buzzer beater Saturday afternoon, dropping a 79-76 decision at No. 5/5 Tennessee inside a sold-out Thompson-Boling Arena. The Crimson Tide led 76-72 with 30 seconds left, however, the Volunteers ended the contest on a 7-0 run, capped by Jahmai Mashack's game-winning heave from 35 feet just prior to the horn sounding.
Mark Sears led Alabama (23-6, 12-4 SEC) with a game-high 24 points and four assists, while Labaron Philon (13) and Aden Holloway (11) also reached double figures. Philon added five steals and four assists to match Sears for the team lead and Grant Nelson added a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with his seven points.
The Vols (24-5, 11-5) were led by Chaz Lanier and Jordan Gainey who both finished with 18 points, with Mashack adding 11.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"Tough way to lose and you have to give Tennessee a lot of credit. They didn't quit when we had them down nine midway through the second half. These guys compete hard, and we did not do a great job of closing it. I will take most of the blame the last 30 seconds, it is on me. We subbed our bigs out to get the rebound before I should have, and I should not have subbed them out until after we secured the rebound. I had a chance to call a timeout; coaches can call a timeout on the underneath out of bounds play and at four (seconds) I should have called it. I thought we were getting it in and that is on me. We work on end of the game situations in practice, and we expect our players to be good at it and I was not good for the last 30 seconds of the game."
Team Stats
- Alabama nearly doubled the amount of time led during the game, led for 21:10 compared to Tennessee owning the advantage for just 11:24
- The Tide failed to reach 80 points for just the second time in SEC play (64 vs. Ole Miss on Jan. 14) and fourth time this year
- The contest featured nine ties and 10 lead changes throughout
- UA held a 43-32 edge on rebounds which included a 13-7 advantage on the offensive glass, resulting in the Tide owning a 14-7 lead in second chance points
- Alabama shot 65 percent (17-of-26) from the charity stripe, with Mark Sears going 6-of-6 to lead the team
- The Tide shot 42 percent (25-60) from the field and 38 percent (9-of-24) from beyond the arc
- Tennessee hit 43 percent (26-61) from the floor, 38 percent (8-of-21) from deep and 73 percent (19-of-26) from the free throw line
First Half
- Alabama's 42 points is the most UA has scored in a half against Tennessee under Nate Oats
- The Crimson Tide forced eight turnovers, which led to 12 points in the first half
- Alabama's Mark Sears and Tennessee's Chaz Lanier led all scorers with 12 points apiece
- Alabama shot 53 percent from the field (15-of-28) and 40 percent from three-point range (4-of-10)
- The Tide outrebounded the Volunteers 20-18
Second Half
- Alabama took its largest lead of the game, 62-53, at the 10:15 mark following an Aden Holloway three
- After trailing since the 3:27 mark in the first half, Tennessee took its first lead in the second half with four minutes left in the game (70-68)
- Alabama regained the lead (73-70) with two minutes left in the game off a Sears' three-pointer
- Labaron Philon's free throw gave the Tide a 76-72 lead with 36 seconds remaining
- The Volunteers went on to finish the game on a 7-0 spurt capped by a near-half court shot game-winning shot to lift UT to the three-point win
Up Next
- Alabama will return home for its home game of the regular season on Wednesday, March 5, vs. No. 3/3 Florida
- Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2
