All-American guard Mark Sears hit a game-winning floater as time expired, and No. 7 Alabama spoiled the home finale of rival and No. 1 Auburn with a 93-91 overtime road win Saturday.
The bucket from Sears came after National Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome drained a 3-pointer with just under 14.7 seconds remaining.
Alabama called a timeout following Broome’s 3-pointer, setting up a play for Sears. The guard got the ball above the 3-point line at the wing, getting the pass from Labaron Philon. Philon ran in Sears’ direction, causing some misdirection as Auburn’s defenders weren’t sure whether to switch.
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That hesitation allowed Sears to dribble into the paint, firing off a runner that went in. The bucket was only Sears’ ninth point of the game, but Alabama rode a team effort to take down Auburn and Broome, who had 34 points on Saturday.
For Alabama, the buzzer beater served as a bit of justice for what happened last week. Tennessee‘s Jahmai Mashack drained a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Volunteers the win over the Crimson Tide.
Saturday’s game nearly had the same heartbreak for Alabama. While Saturday’s game was a close contest throughout, Alabama held an eight-point lead roughly halfway through the second half and had taken the lead with 1:17 remaining in overtime.
If the two teams were to meet again, it would be in the championship game of the SEC Tournament. The win improved Alabama to 13-5 in conference play, ensuring that it would finish third in SEC regular-season play and hold the No. 3 seed in the upcoming conference tournament. With the loss, Auburn fell to 27-4 (15-3) on the season, but it had already clinched the SEC regular-season title.
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