No. 9 Alabama outlasts No. 6 Houston 85-80 in overtime at the Players Era Festival

Mark Sears scored 24 points and No. 9 Alabama beat No. 6 Houston 85-80 in overtime Tuesday night in the Players Era Festival opener.

After blowing an eight-point lead with 8:53 to play and allowing Houston to force overtime, Alabama outscored the Cougars 7-2 in the extra frame to secure the win.

Houston’s LJ Cryer, who led all scorers with a career-high 30 points, had a chance to win the game but missed a midfield baseline jumper with two seconds left.

Grant Nelson had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Mouhamed Dioubate had 10 points and 16 rebounds for Alabama.

Emanuel Sharp finished the game with 14 points while J’Wan Roberts added 11 for the Cougars.

Takeaways

Alabama: The game was the Tide’s third straight against a top-25 team. After losing to then-No. 13 Purdue 87-78, they beat then-No. 25 Illinois 100-87 on a neutral court in Birmingham.

Houston: Sharp entered the event leading the Cougars and the Big 12 Conference with the second-highest 3-point shooting percentage in the country at 73.3% (11 of 15). However, the sophomore wasn’t as sharp against the Tide, finishing the game 2-of-6 from long range.

Key moment

With 24 seconds left in overtime and the Tide leading 84-80, Houston’s Joseph Tugler drove the lane but was blocked by Alabama’s Derrion Reid. Roberts then fouled Reid, who made one of two free throws to extend the lead to five and seal the win.

Key statistics

Alabama attempted 41 free throws and made 30 of them, while Houston had five players commit four or five fouls. Both Sharp and Milos Uzan were fouled out of the game for the Cougars.

Next

Alabama will face Rutgers on Wednesday in the second round of the event, while Houston will play Notre Dame in the second round.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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