Six Alabama players scored in double figures and the No. 2 seed Crimson Tide held seventh-seeded Saint Mary’s to 24-of-70 shooting from the floor in an 80-66 win in the second round of the East Region on Sunday in Cleveland.
The Crimson Tide will move on to face No. 6 seed BYU in Newark, N.J., in the Sweet 16 on Thursday.
Alabama (27-8) answered every one of the Gaels’ efforts at a rally in the second half, preserving the 13-point advantage the Crimson Tide built going into halftime. Alabama capitalized on the Gaels’ 0-for-9 start from 3-point range, including 0 of 6 as part of a woeful 9-of-36 shooting performance through the first 20 minutes.
Saint Mary’s (29-6) threatened multiple times in the second half behind Jordan Ross, Mitchell Saxen and Augustas Marciulionis, each of whom scored eight points in the latter 20 minutes. However, the Gaels could get no closer than seven points thanks to timely points from a variety of Alabama scorers.
Aden Holloway, Mark Sears and Grant Nelson each scored 12 points. Nelson, who did not play until late in the game because of a knee injury during Alabama’s first-round win over Robert Morris, was integral to the Tide combating a Saint Mary’s team that was excellent on the boards all season.
Nelson grabbed eight rebounds to help give Alabama a 41-36 edge on the glass. Clifford Omoruyi, who provided a variety of key dunks in the second half to stem Saint Mary’s rallies, posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Chris Youngblood led Alabama with 13 points. The Tide’s multifaceted look produced the most points the typically stingy Saint Mary’s defense allowed all season.
“Whether it’s injuries, foul trouble, just depth to wear teams out, guys just not playing well and you need somebody else to step up, I definitely think we’ve got (the depth),” said Alabama coach Nate Oats. “No doubt, (the Tide bench) stepped up big from last year’s run (to the Final), even today.”
On Sunday, however, the Gaels surrendered 29-of-56 shooting from the floor, including 7 of 17 from 3-point range.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well enough to win that game,” Gaels coach Randy Bennett said. “Nor did we defend them well enough. They shot (too) a good percentage on us to overcome that.”
Saxen led all scorers with 15 points in the loss. Harry Wessels finished with 12 points and eight rebounds for the Gaels.
With Sunday’s win, Alabama advances to its third straight Sweet 16 and fourth since 2021. The three straight trips to the regional semifinals matches a program record set from 1985-87.
–Field Level Media
