TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 7 Alabama took down Creighton 83-75 in its first home game in 33 days.

It may not have been the prettiest game from the Crimson Tide offensively, but point guard Mark Sears held off the Blue Jays comeback bid and led the Crimson Tide to a victory with 20 second half points.

Sears shot 5-for-7 from the field in the second half, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range and hitting seven critical free throws down the stretch of the game to help seal a win. He discord 27 for the game on 8-for-15 shooting.

Sears’ performance Saturday was his best shooting performance since the first game of the season against UNC Asheville.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats is optimistic that Sears was able to find his rhythm against Creighton, “I hope he is getting back to what he does. I’ll say this: he has been outstanding in practice leading into the Carolina game and since the Carolina game,” Oats said.

The Crimson Tide jumped out to a 27-10 lead early in the first half, but shooting 1-for-14 as a team to end the first half opened the door for a Creighton comeback as the Blue Jays took a 17-point deficit down to six by halftime.

Alabama and Creighton went back-and-forth in the second half with each team suffering their own scoring droughts in the half. Ultimately it was the free throw making from Sears and center Clifford Omoruyi that held off the Blue Jays and gave Alabama its 33rd home win in its last 35 home games.

Another bright spot for Alabama was freshman guard Labaron Philon. Philon was in double figures once again this season, putting up 16 points on 7-for-11 from the field and adding five rebounds.

Oats commented on Philon’s defensive intensity throughout the game going up against Creighton guard Steven Ashworth.

 “He’s a great defender. He’s tough, he’s long, he’s athletic and I thought him and Derrion Reid both did a good job,” Oats said. “Labaron’s and Derrion’s effort and their intensity and their want to is at a high level right now.”

Overall, it was not the best offensive performance shooting-wise from the Crimson Tide. Alabama shot 30-for-70 for the game (42%), but only made six out of its 30 attempts from behind the arc. Alabama entered the game making nine 3-point field goals per game, making Saturday night a season low for made 3-point shots.

While it was not its best offensive night of the season, the Crimson Tide defense picked up the offense. Alabama held Creighton to 29% from 3-point range, including holding the Blue Jays to 2-for-12 in the first half, which contributed to helping Alabama build its first half lead. 

The Crimson Tide dominated the boards Saturday, out rebounding Creighton 46-32, including out rebounding the Blue Jays on the offensive glass 17-5, which led to 14 second chance points for Alabama.

“For 17-5, you’d like the second chance points to be a lot bigger disparity, but I thought our effort was pretty good for the most part,” Oats said.

Additionally, Alabama won the turnover battle, forcing 13 Creighton turnovers compared to the Crimson Tide’s 11. Alabama was able to capitalize off of the Creighon turnovers, scoring 16 points from its 13 takeaways.

South Florida transfer Chris Youngblood made his first appearance in a Crimson Tide uniform Saturday. Youngblood missed the first nine games of the season due to an ankle injury hen suffered in the offseason. In 16 minutes of play, he scored 5 points, including one made 3-pointer and added a rebound and an assist to his total.

In its last seven games, Alabama has gone 5-2 with all games being against quad 1 and quad 2 teams according to the NET rankings.

“I think this will be a win that goes a long way come March, which is why we schedule games like this,” Oats said.

Up next, Alabama will hit the road once again and travel up to Grand Forks, North Dakota to take on the Fighting Hawks of North Dakota. Alabama and North Dakota will tip off at 8 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network.