Mark Sears had a rough first half – shooting 2 for 11 from the field. But he came out in the second half hot and never stopped. He went 6 for 7 from three in the second half, and helped lead the Tide to a 89-82 victory over Clemson.
Alabama partially got ahead with about 4 minutes to play with the inside power of Nick Pringle – he would get the ball in the lane and power his way to the basket. He would either get the layup or get the offensive rebound or get the foul. And in one case, he managed to score and get the foul on PJ Hall – which fouled him out of the game with 3:30 to play. His dominance in the lane extended the Alabama lead to 9.
Clemson tried to get back into as Ian Schieffelin got a layup and foul, and Joseph Girard III hit a deep three-pointer to cut the lead to 3 with 2 minutes left.
Alabama got the ball into Pringle again who extended the lead to 6 with another layup and foul. But Clemson quickly came back down the court as Jack Clark made a layup.
The play that might have been the dagger was with 1:17 as Sears faked a drive to the basket, took a step back behind the three-point line, and then drained a three pointer to go up 7 points.
Clemson cut the lead to 5 when it looked like Alabama would win it off a missed three pointer. But RJ Godfrey ripped the ball out of the Alabama defender’s hands and hit the layup. Then, a strange thing happened.
Clemson didn’t foul right away – which would turn out to be a great decision. They would pressure Alabama and force a turnover instead. Sears quickly fouled as the ball was stolen. Now, instead of watching Alabama shooting free throws to extend the lead, it would be Clemson getting a chance to cut the lead without the clock moving.
And then Jack Clark missed both free throws. This time, Clemson fouled and Grant Nelson drained both free throws. Then, it was just a matter of running the clock down to zero. And the celebration was on as Alabama made it to their first ever trip to the Final Four.
So, the Crimson Tide join the Huskies in the Final Four – half the excitement is set. The other two will be decided Sunday afternoon!!!!
Congratulations to the Huskies and Crimson Tide!!!!