Alabama Bounces Back After Skid With Win Over Kentucky

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Alabama men's basketball team (22-5, 11-3 SEC) overcame a shaky start to top the Kentucky Wildcats (18-9, 7-7 SEC) in a shootout, 96-83, Saturday night in Coleman Coliseum.

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All-American point guard Mark Sears paced the Tide offense in a turbulent first half, dropping 15 points as the Tide fought from behind before grabbing a lead in the few minutes before halftime.

Sears carried his hot hand over to the second half and finished with 30 points, shooting 3-8 from behind the arch over 35 minutes of play.

Guard Aden Holloway also got into double figures off the bench in the first half with 12 points, before finishing the night 6-14 for 19 points.

Clifford Omoruyi also added a double-double in the winning effort, scoring 11 points and snagging 15 rebounds, and was joined in the double-figures column by Tuscaloosa native Chris Youngblood, who went 5-8 for 14 points.

By contrast, it was an uncharacteristically quiet game from forward Grant Nelson, who got into foul trouble and contributed only 5 points and 3 rebounds over 15 minutes.

After trailing for over 10 minutes to start the highly anticipated matchup, the Crimson Tide clawed back to go into the locker room up 47-40.

Alabama finished the game shooting 32-61 (52%) from the floor compared to Kentucky's 43% and 11-31 from three-point range, with 38 points coming in the paint during a physical matchup.

This marks the first time since the 2020-21 season that the Tide has beaten the Wildcats twice in one season, with the next most-recent season being 1989-90.

The Crimson Tide will return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 25 when the Mississippi State Bulldogs come to Coleman Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m., with ESPN2 carrying the television broadcast.

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