In a hotly contested game with a high degree of athleticism, Alabama and LSU waged premium battle with plenty of words and trash talk exchanged throughout. In the end, the Crimson Tide held on 80-79 after LSU had a couple of last-second attempts including a 3-point attempt and offensive rebound would-be putback.

LSU’s Trendon Watford was the emotional spark for the Tigers, especially in the second half as he had a game-high 30 points. But his final 3-pointer fell short as Alabama appeared to have more energy and depth as a team as the Crimson Tide had 28 points off the bench, to zero for LSU. Alabama’s Herb Jones responded with plenty of key plays in the closing minutes, including a one-handed slam, and then a running layup with 19.8 seconds remaining.

Alabama had 4 players in double figures led by Jaden Shackelford with 21.

Early in the game, Alabama built its lead thanks to its play on the offensive glass, where it had a 7-0 edge. That resulted in 8 second-chance points for the Tide. After it missed 9 of 10 shots, LSU hit 5 of its past 7. The Tigers went ahead by 4 on a 7-0 run before Alabama’s Jahvon Quinerly answered with a 3-pointer.

Alabama led 40-37 at halftime thanks to a 7-0 run, and an 11-6 edge in offensive rebounds, and 8-4 lead in second-chance points. Alabama coach Nate Oats noted in a halftime interview with ESPN’s Marty Smith that LSU players were getting tired because of a lack of depth as compared to the Crimson Tide.

The game was played at an increasingly rapid pace as neither team by early in the second half led by more than 3 points since early the first half. There were 6 lead changes in the first 8 minutes of the second half. The first-half was a back-and-forth slug fest as Alabama raced to an 8-0 lead before Cam Thomas of LSU hit a pair of 3-pointers from the logo.

Before the game, there was a skirmish on the court where assistant coaches and players got into a jawing back-and-forth that had to be broken up by officials. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey even walked on the court during the brouhaha.

Alabama swept the two-game regular season series, including the Feb. 3 meeting when the Crimson Tide won by 18 points as LSU shot just 30.8 percent.

This title game appearance was the first in a while for both programs. Alabama last made the SEC title game in 2002, and last won it in 1991. For LSU, it’s been since 1993 that the Tigers played for the trophy, and 1980 since the program won it.