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The Tuscaloosa News
When Alabama basketball needed Final Four fuel, Mark Sears provided it | Goodbread
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- When Alabama basketball needed Final Four fuel, Mark Sears provided it | Goodbread
Mark Sears was so far outside the 3-point line, his heels were no more than a couple inches from the edge of the March Madness logo at center court. Was the Alabama basketball star point guard 25 feet from the basket? Maybe 26? He didn't care.
And coach Nate Oats didn't either.
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Sears was feeling it, after all, and Alabama basketball history belonged in his hands. So the senior from Muscle Shoals let it fly and buried the long-range shot that, as much as any other basket the Crimson Tide made, sparked an 89-82 win over Clemson on Saturday for the NCAA Tournament's West Region title and Alabama's first-ever Final Four berth .
"It felt like it was from half-court," Oats said.
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Not quite, but Sears' heave gave UA a 68-59 lead, coming amid his scorching-hot second half, and was enough of a gut punch that Tigers coach Brad Brownell responded by calling a timeout with 6:12 remaining.
His team never recovered.
For a half, it looked like Alabama might have to find a way to win without its top scorer. Sears was just 2-of-11 from the field and 1-of-7 from 3-point range at halftime. But his confidence has never been shaken by a cold-shooting half, nor is it beholden, as Clemson learned, to close proximity to the 3-point line. A few weeks ago, Oats noted that his coaching staff has charted its 3-point shooters to learn which of them should keep their toes close to the 3-point line and which can score just as consistently from further back.
Sears is among those with the long-distance green light.
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So with the Crimson Tide needing a spark to extend a slim lead, Sears knocked down five consecutive 3-pointers in the second half, the aforementioned launch from logo-land fourth among them, to finish with a game-high 23 points. The first-team All-SEC pick, who was a relatively sure bet to score 20 on any given night for the Crimson Tide all season, was named Most Outstanding Player in the tournament's West Region.
"Hard work is undefeated. I live for those moments. This is what March Madness is about," Sears told the TBS broadcast after the game. "When you're a kid, you want to be in these moments, and my dream came true today."
A one-man show it was not.
Alabama couldn't have asked for more effort from forward Nick Pringle, who played through obvious pain with a heel injury to score 16 with 11 rebounds. Freshman forward Jarin Stevenson, connected on 5 of 8 3-pointers to score 19 and played one of his best defensive games to give UA another needed lift.
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But Sears is the guy this team rallies behind.
It's Sears who triggers it all.
And it's Sears who will have to be right back on top of his game when the Crimson Tide takes on No. 1 overall seed UConn in its Final Four debut on Saturday. The defending national champion Huskies have gone unchallenged in four NCAA Tournament wins with a suffocating defense, advancing by scores of 91-52, 75-58, 82-52 and 77-52. That sets up a something-must-give matchup against Alabama's explosive offense.
And as good as the Huskies defense might be, Sears won't be shy to shoot over it from any distance.
Tuscaloosa News sport columnist Chase Goodbread.
Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: When Alabama basketball needed Final Four fuel, Mark Sears provided it
