AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 1 Auburn Tigers fell to the No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide 93-91 Saturday at Neville Arena. Mark Sears hit a floater as time expired to give Alabama the win in what will go down as one of the games of the year.
Auburn’s defense, namely Denver Jones, held Sears in check all game. He went 3-9 from the field and 1-4 from three, scoring just nine points. Sears had seven assists, helping teammates Grant Nelson and Clifford Omoruyi to superb games.
It was a back-and-forth game from the tip, with Auburn scoring first before Alabama took the lead a minute later and held it for the rest of the half, carrying a 45-42 lead into the break. Tahaad Pettiford and Johni Broome led the Tigers in the first half with 14 and 16 points respectively. Grant Nelson’s 15 first half points led the Crimson Tide.
Auburn came out firing in the second, taking a 55-50 lead five minutes in thanks to 11 quick ones from Miles Kelly. Alabama responded with a 15-2 run, stretching their lead to eight with ten minutes to play. Auburn would respond with seven straight, and the two teams would trade the lead three more times before a Johni Broome layup tied it with a minute left. Neither team found the basket in the last minute, and the game headed to overtime.
In overtime, the back-and-forth affair continued. Broome hit a game-tying corner three with 14 seconds to play, but despite his 34-point showing, it was Mark Sears who stole the show. Coming off a screen, Sears drove left and nailed a floater as the horn sounded to send the Tide back to Tuscaloosa with a much-needed win.
Alabama Head Coach Nate Oats talked after the game about what it meant to win this one. “I know this game wasn’t meaningful as far as SEC regular season championship results or any of that, but it looked to me like they were trying to get the win,” Oats said. “We win against them on their senior night. I think we showed what we’re capable of moving forward”
For Auburn, this game and Tuesday were their only back-to-back losses of the year. They will head into the SEC Tournament looking to reaffirm their place as the best team in the conference.
When asked how to not let this game affect their play in the tournament, Broome answered, “We still won the regular season championship. That’s not good enough for us, though.”
Chad Baker-Mazara, who had seven points and three assists, played only 17 minutes on his senior day. He struggled with foul trouble in the first half before being ejected in the second with a Flagrant 2 foul. Baker-Mazara was also ejected in last year’s loss to Yale in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
When asked about his message to Baker-Mazara, Auburn Head Coach Bruce Pearl said, “Chad can’t do that.”
Johni Broome addes to his player of the year resume, scoring 34 points and grabbing eight rebounds. He will look to continue his stellar play as the Tigers head to Nashville for the SEC Tournament before they find out their seed for the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday. Their next game is Friday, March 14 at noon.
