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 off-balance buzzer-beater from the free-throw line was only the third made basket of the game for Sears, who finished with nine points.
Alabama got 23 points from Grant Nelson and 15 points each from Labaron Philon and Clifford Omoruyi. The win ended a two-game losing skid for Alabama and handed a second straight loss for Auburn. Johni Broome scored 34 points, including a game-tying layup in the final minute of regulation and a game-tying 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in overtime.
Tahaad Pettiford added 19 points for Auburn, which was without second-leading scorer Chad Baker-Mazara for the final 10:52 of regulation and overtime. Baker-Mazara was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul on Alabama's Chris Youngblood.
The Crimson Tide will enter the postseason with much-needed momentum, and they did it without having to overly rely on Sears offensively. That's a great sign for Nate Oats' team, which got 52 points in the paint Saturday. For Auburn, the Tigers will look back at their miscues in this game, including allowing 10 Alabama offensive rebounds for 18 second-chance points. Defensive rebounding was an issue for Auburn earlier this week in a loss to Texas A&M.
Sears' game-winning shot put an end to a back-and-forth final stretch between two of the best offenses in college basketball this season. Both teams' star players logged heavy minutes. Sears played 40 minutes for Alabama, while Broome played 43 for Auburn. As top-four seeds in the SEC Tournament, Auburn and Alabama will both open the postseason on Friday in Nashville.
