KNOXVILLE, Tenn.- No.17 Alabama storms back from a double-digit deficit in a 71-69 win over No.22 Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday, which saw the Crimson Tide’s guard Labaron Philon drill a 14-foot game-winning jumper.

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This game started off with the Volunteers dominating the Crimson Tide at nearly every facet of the game, with Tennessee ending the first half with 13 more rebounds than Alabama, and 12 more offensive rebounds than the Crimson Tide, with the Volunteers having 17 second-chance points in the first half compared to the Tide’s three. 

Tennessee’s defense also did a great job in the first half, forcing the Crimson Tide to tough shots, with Nate Oats squad only making ten baskets in the first half while shooting 16 fewer field goals than the Volunteers, who finished the first half with 43 shots compared to Alabama’s 27 attempts. 

With a combination of great rebounding and terrific defense, the Volunteers were able to close out the first half with a 40-28 lead, which saw Tennessee guard Ja’k Gillespie finish the first half with 15 points, while Alabama’s leading scorer for the first half was Latrell Wrightsell, who finished the first period with 11 points. 

The second half saw the Crimson Tide start to settle in on offense, with Alabama’s turnover percentage at 25% in the first half, dropping to 6% in the second, and eight Tide turnovers. With that, Alabama’s scoring percentage also rose from 38.7 percent in the first half to 59.8 percent in the second half, with the Tide scoring 43 points in the second half while also holding the Volunteers to only 29 points in the final half of play. 

Alabama’s scoring success in the second half came mostly from its guards, with Philon (15 points), Wrightsell (14 points), and Aden Holloway (10 points) all contributing double-digit points in the final period of the ball game. 39 of the Tide’s 43 second-half points were accounted for by the three guards. These three also combined for 60 of the Crimson Tide’s 71 points scored in Saturday’s comeback victory, with Philon (23 points) and Wrightsell (25 points) both finishing with over 20 points. 

This game saw the Crimson Tide trail for the entirety of it, with Alabama tying it up for the first time at the 02:32 mark of the final half of regulation after a tough layup from Philon. Over a minute later, Alabama took its first lead of the game with 36 seconds remaining when the Sophomore guard from Mobile, Alabama, drilled a 14-foot jumper to give the Tide not only its first lead of the ball game, but the win after the Crimson Tide’s defense forced a missed layup from Gillespie. The final two minutes of the game saw the Volunteers fail to make a field goal as Oats’ Crimson Tide played suffocating defense. 

Double-Digit Scorers

• Latrell Wrightsell- 25 points
• Labaron Philon- 23 points 
• Aden Holloway- 12 Points

Stat Leaders

• Points- Latrel Wrightsell (25)
• Assists- Aden Holloway and Labaron Philon (2)
• Rebounds- Aiden Sherrell (8)
• Blocks- Aiden Sherrell (4)

Alabama will improve to 22-7 and 12-4 in conference play, currently tied for second place in the SEC with Arkansas, but Alabama will win that tiebreaker due to its double-overtime win over the Razorbacks last Wednesday. The Crimson Tide will be back in action next Tuesday, March 3rd, when they travel to Athens to face Georgia. 

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