Alabama needed extra time to maintain its SEC lead. No. 13 UA was taken to overtime by upset-minded No. 24 Florida on Wednesday night. The Tide never trailed in the extra period, notching a 98-93 win to improve to 11-2 in the SEC.

Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. led all scorers with 27 points on 9-of-24 field-goal shooting, including 4-of-16 3-pointers and 5 free throws. Nelson Grant was Alabama’s top scorer with 22 points (5-of-15 FG, 1-of-6 3-pointers, 6-of-8 FTs).

Here are 3 quick takeaways from the SEC thriller in Tuscaloosa:

Leading when it matters

Alabama and Florida had a track meet on the hardwood going much of the night at Coleman Coliseum. Both teams tend to light up the scoreboard, and Wednesday was no exception.

The Gators were giving the Crimson Tide all they could handle and more, but Nate Oats’ squad could feel that it was just one big rally away from seizing the momentum. The final box score has Florida leading for over 29 minutes, Alabama leading for nearly 10 minutes and the game tied 8 times.

Alabama had to overcome a 10-point second-half deficit (72-62) to get the game to overtime. In the extra period, the Tide flipped a switch and took over. UA scored the first 7 points in OT and never trailed, a strong closeout in a hard-fought game.

Beating Florida on the boards

UF entered the game as the SEC’s top team on the glass, with 44.2 rebounds per game. Alabama boosted its average of 39.4 rebounds per game, fourth in the conference, by out-rebounding the Gators 54-44.

Grant Nelson, Aaron Estrada and Nick Pringle each grabbed 8 rebounds for the Tide.

Finding a way

Alabama could not buy a 3-pointer in the first half. The Tide went just 2-of-18 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes. Those numbers would have many teams too deep in the hole, but Alabama trailed Florida by just 4 points (41-37).

As pointed out by the ESPN broadcast, Florida coach Todd Golden was not going to let the Tide shoot 18 more 3-pointers in the second half. It took a while, but Alabama did get some key triples in its second-half comeback. When all was said and done, Bama finished 8-of-32, only one 3-pointer behind Florida’s 9-of-30.

When the 3-ball wasn’t working, the Tide attacked the paint. Alabama finished with a 56-40 scoring advantage in the paint.

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