February 28, 2026; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Lavaron Pilon (0) shoots the ball against Tennessee Volunteers center Felix Okpara (34) in the second half at the Food City Center’s Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Image Labaron Philon Jr. sank a jumper with 22.8 seconds left to give Alabama its sole lead as the No. 17 Crimson Tide scored 13 points and rallied from a second-half deficit to win 71-69 over No. 22 Tennessee in Southeastern Conference action Saturday night in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Pilon scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half as Alabama (22-7, 12-4 SEC) extended its winning streak to eight games. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. scored 14 of his team-high 25 points in the second half for the Crimson Tide.
Aden Holloway added 12 points as Alabama snapped a five-game slide against Tennessee.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie had 26 points, seven assists and matched a school record eight steals for the Volunteers (20-9, 10-6), who have lost their second straight game. JP Estrella added 12 points and Jaylen Carey had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Tennessee’s Nate Ament scored just two points in 11 minutes after injuring his right leg in the first half. Ament had 29 points when the Volunteers defeated the Crimson Tide last month.
With the score tied at 69, Philon drove, evaded the bigger Estrella and made a 10-foot turnaround jumper in the lane to give Alabama its first lead.
Gillespie tried to tie the game with a driving shot, but it missed the rim with about 3 seconds left. Players from both teams swung and hit the ball, and as time expired, the ball eventually headed toward the baseline.
Alabama shot 44.6 percent from the field, including 10 of 27 on 3-pointers.
The Volunteers made 38.5% of their attempts and were 4 of 18 from behind the arc.
Tennessee went on an 11-2 run in the second half to take a 55-42 lead. Estrella’s layup capped the burst as Tennessee took a game-high 13-point lead with 12:16 left.
Alabama scored 19 of the next 27 points and capitalized on Pilon’s 3-point play and Wrightsell’s trey to tie the game at 63-61 with 4:35 left.
Moments later, Philon’s personal 6-0 burst put the Crimson Tide up 67 points with 2:32 to play.
Estrella’s baseline jumper put Tennessee back ahead with 2:06 left. Holloway tied the game with a jumper with 1:11 left.
Gillespie scored 15 first-half points to help Tennessee take a 40-28 lead at the break. Wrightsell had 11 first-half points for the Crimson Tide.
Tennessee was leading 20-16 with 7:42 left in the first half when Ament went down with an injury while trying to get the ball. He returned early in the second half and left the game again at 17:53.
–Field level media
