Alabama Defeats Cougars 85-80 in OT

The No. 9-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide took care of business in game one of the Players Era Festival, defeating the No. 6-ranked Houston Cougars 85-80 in a matchup akin to a heavyweight brawl.

Forward Mouhamed Dioubate and guard Mark Sears led the way for the Crimson Tide. Dioubate posted a double-double with ten points and 15 rebounds while tacking on three clutch blocks.

"Coach [Nate Oats] told me before the game, 'This is a Mo Dioubate game.'" said Alabama forward Mouhamed Diouabte after the Tide's 85-80 win over Houston.

Sears found his groove back after being held scoreless in the Tide's win over Illinois last week, dropping 24 points. The Muscle Shoals, Ala., native shot 50% from three and found his way to the charity stripe on 14 occasions, converting 12 of his attempts.

Houston's LJ Cryer led the way for the Cougs.' scoring 30 points while knocking down all ten of his free throw attempts.

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The game started as a physical, defensive battle, as Houston would jump out to an early 8-3 lead with 16:03 in the 1H thanks to an Emanuel Sharp three.

Kelvin Sampson's Houston squad would maintain the slim lead until an Aden Hollaway three handed the Crimson Tide a 12-11 lead. However, Houston would snag the lead right back via a J'Wan Roberts jumper the next trip down the floor.

The Cougars would then score six more unanswered points thanks to a pair of jumpers from LJ Cryer and Emmanuel Sharp and two free throws from Ja'Vier Francis, extending their lead to seven.

This would be Houstons' largest lead of the night.

The Crimson Tide would begin to claw back, eventually tying up the game via an Aden Holloway layup at 21-a-piece with 7:16 left in the first half before taking the lead thanks to a pair of Mouhamed Dioubate free throws.

Hosutons' LJ Cryer would tie it up the next trip down the floor via a 12-foot jumper.

The two squads would duke it out the rest of the way, as Houston would head to the locker room up by two points.

The Tide would take an early lead in the second half thanks to a quick three from Latrell Wrightsell Jr., a lead they would hold for a large portion of the half.

After taking an eight-point lead with a Mark Sears free throw with 7:27 left in the game, the Crimson Tide would hit a dry spell, allowing the Cougars to claw themselves back into the game.

Houston would take the 67-65 lead via two Emmanuel Sharp free throws with 4:55 left in the second half, eventually extending it to a 75-71 advantage late with 1:55 to go in the second half.

The Tide would eventually tie it up at 78-all thanks to two Mark Sears free throws, a Sears three-ball, and a pair of Latrell Wrightsell free shots.

LJ Cryer would miss a floater as the seconds ticked off the clock, allowing Alabama's Mouhamed Dioubate time to heave a 3/4 court shot that fell just short, sending the game to overtime.

Mark Sears would get the Crimson Tide started with a three a minute into the overtime period, and the Crimson Tide wouldn't look back, taking home the victory 85-80.

The Crimson Tide advance to 4-1 and are set to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. CT.

For more Alabama Baseball, Basketball, and Football content from Simon Besnoy, follow him on X/Twitter at @SimonBesnoy and stay tuned to Tide1009.com for daily news.