TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 7 Alabama got back in the win column in a big way as the Crimson Tide took down No. 1 Auburn 93-91 in overtime.

The Crimson Tide punched first in a game of punches. Alabama got out to an eight-point lead in the first half and eventually took a three-point lead into halftime. 

The second half was filled with lead changes. Auburn struck first by claiming a lead of five in the first five minutes. The Crimson Tide punched back with a 15-4 run with the help of a flagrant two foul from Auburn forward Chad Baker-Mazara. Baker-Mazara elbowed Alabama guard Chris Youngblood in the back of the head and Baker-Mazara was promptly ejected from the game.

The Tigers did not back down however as they came back to tie the game and send it into overtime. The two teams went shot for shot in the overtime period until the very final possession. WIth 18 seconds remaining in the game, Alabama point guard Mark Sears dribbled the clock down to four seconds, where he drove into the paint and hit a floater at the buzzer.

“I think we showed what we are capable of moving forward,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said.

One of the biggest reasons for Alabama winning the rematch of the Iron Bowl of Basketball was Crimson Tide forward Grant Nelson. Nelson scored 15 points in the first half and finished with 23 points in the game on 8-for-15 shooting and hitting three of his six 3-pointers.

“My teammates have been giving me confidence and doing a lot in practice. The coaches drawing plays up for me to get downhill kind of got me going,” Nelson said.

Guard Labaron Philon and center Clifford Omoruyi also gave the offense major contributions. Both Philon and Omoruyi scored 15 points with Omoruyi scoring on all seven of his shot attempts.

After losing the rebound battle by 15 to Florida earlier in the week, the Crimson Tide responded well to Nate Oats’ message to his players on their rebounding effort. Today, Alabama out rebounded the Tigers 41-33, including 10 offensive rebounds that led to 18 second chance points. Nelson and Omoruyi led the team with eight rebounds each. 

Forward Aiden Sherrell came off the bench when Alabama’s bigs entered foul trouble. Sherrell gave quality minutes off the bench with eight points on 3-for-3 shooting and grabbing seven boards.

The Alabama turnovers were what helped prevent Alabama from securing any commanding lead during the game. The Crimson Tide lost the turnover battle with 15 compared to nine from Auburn. The Tigers were +10 in points off turnovers, outsourcing the Crimson Tide 20-10.

Despite winning just two of the last six games heading into today, Alabama feels that the win over its rival proved the team has learned from the tough stretch.

“I’d say it showed growth,” Sears said. “We had the toughest schedule in the country and I feel like we learned a lot during this seven-game stretch to prepare us for the SEC Tournament.”

With the win, Oats got his third win against an AP-ranked No. 1 team and Sears became the first player in SEC history with three or more victories over a top-ranked team in a career.

More importantly, Alabama secured the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament next week with the win. Alabama will face the No. 6 seed, No. 11 seed Georgia or No. 14 seed Oklahoma Friday night. The No. 6 seed in the tournament will be determined later Saturday night. Depending on the outcomes later in the night, the No. 6 seed will be Kentucky, Ole Miss or Missouri.

“Hopefully this gives our guys some confidence going into the tournament and we’ve got to get our legs back under us,” Oats said.

Whoever Alabama will play, it will take on its opponent at 8:30 p.m. CT Friday.