Led by Mark Sears’ game-high 27 points, the Alabama Crimson Tide finally ended the “Creighton curse” Saturday night with an 83-75 victory over the Bluejays at Coleman Coliseum.
Alabama’s first game in Tuscaloosa in 33 days was far from an easy one. The Crimson Tide (8-2 overall) led by as many as 17 points in the first half, then had to hold on tight to close things out.
Nate Oats’ team started well, hitting five of its first eight shots for an early 13-5 lead in the first six minutes after Sears converted a layup off a mismatch underneath — part of a 9-0 Alabama run.
The Tide’s hot start continued when Labaron Philon converted an easy layup off a turnover and made another basket underneath to make it 24-10. Alabama stretched the lead to 17 when Sears was left open on a deep 3-pointer to make it 27-10, an 11-0 Crimson Tide spurt as Creighton went almost 5:30 without a basket.
But Alabama hit a cold-shooting spell late in the opening half to allow Creighton (7-4) to make it a 10-point game with under four minutes. The Crimson Tide led 37-31 at halftime after closing the first half by making just one of their last 14 shots.
Alabama went up by 13 in the second half when freshman Derrion Reid’s dunk made it 65-52 with 6:40 to play. Reid would go on to finish with 12 points, his third game in four nights in double figures.
Creighton cut the lead to 10 with 4:30 left and slowly continued to chip away. When Jackson McAndrew converted a four-point play with 24 seconds left, the Bluejays trailed by just four at 79-75.
Alabama closed out the game from the free-throw line as Sears made all four attempts from the charity stripe. In addition to Sears’ 27 points, Philon finished with 16. Alabama shot 43 percent from the field (30-of-70) and only 20 percent (six-of-30) from behind the arc.
The Crimson Tide had been winless in three previous meetings against Creighton, including a loss in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament and last season’s 85-82 loss in Omaha.
Alabama basketball schedule 2024-25
The Crimson Tide will face the North Dakota Fighting Hawks (4-7) in Grand Forks, N.D., on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Instant recap: Alabama basketball survives tough challenge from Creighton
