After it suffered its first loss of the season, Alabama men's basketball bounced back from its first loss of the season with a 99-91 win over Oregon in the Emerald Coast Classic on Saturday.
The Crimson Tide got production from its entire lineup Saturday. Nine of the 10 Crimson Tide players who saw the floor scored and four of Alabama's five starters finished in double figures. Mark Sears led the Crimson Tide with 27 points and added seven rebounds three assists and three steals.
"Mark played significantly harder,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “(He) was really locked in tonight and led our team in blue-collar points and ended up with seven rebounds as a guard. He drove the ball downhill and I thought he was really into it on defense."
The Crimson Tide trailed the Ducks 21-18 midway through the first half but ignited a 12-1 run to take the lead, which ballooned to an 18-point Alabama advantage by the eight-minute mark of the second half.
While Oats said that he still wants to see fewer mistakes from the Crimson Tide on the defensive end, he was impressed with Alabama’s effort Saturday. The Crimson Tide outrebounded Oregon 40-28 and shot 26-28 from the free-throw line.
Alabama next hosts Clemson in the ACC/SEC Challenge at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday inside Coleman Coliseum.