Alabama’s 2021 NCAA Tournament has come to an end in the Sweet 16. The 2-seed Crimson Tide fell 88-78 to 11-seed UCLA in overtime.

The Bruins dominated the 5-minute overtime period, outscoring Nate Oats’ squad 23-13. Alabama struggled at the free-throw line all game, shooting just 11-of-25 while UCLA made 20-of-25.

Alabama’s missed free-throws were especially costly when evaluated situationally.

The Bruins shot 7-of-15 from beyond the arc in the first half. They finished shooting 34.5 percent (10-of-29) percent from 3-point territory. Alabama made 7-of-28 3-point attempts.

Alabama guard Jahvon Quinerly led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-22 shooting from the floor and 2-of-4 at the line. UCLA’s top scorers were Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Jules Bernard with 17 points each. All five UCLA starters scored in double digits.

Alabama had the edge in field-goal shooting percentage (43.5 to 39.2) and rebounding (46 to 42). UCLA, however, managed fewer turnovers (8-to-14) in addition to winning the free-throw battle.

UCLA will face 1-seed Michigan in the East Region Final. The Wolverines knocked off 4-seed Florida State on Sunday.

UCLA jumped out to an early 7-1 lead. Alabama had tied it up 7-7 by the under-16 timeout (15:12). UA extended its run to 16-2 by the under-12 timeout (11:17).

Herb Jones picked up two offensive fouls during the first 41 seconds, sending him to the bench early in the first half. Jones returned with 9:10 remaining in the half.

A Juwan Gary score with 7:32 left in the first half made it 23-20 in Alabama’s favor. From there, however, UCLA dominated the rest of the half. The Bruins went on a 20-6 run to close the half, taking a 40-29 lead to the locker room. Alabama’s Jaden Shackelford, John Petty and Herb Jones combined for just 2 points in the first half.

There was a big shift at the start of the second half as UCLA came out shooting cold while Alabama went on a 7-0 run, cutting UCLA’s lead to 40-36 and prompting the Bruins to take out a timeout at 16:34 instead of waiting for the under-16 media timeout.

A Petty dunk at the 15:13 mark made it a 40-40 game, extending Alabama’s run to 11-0. From there, it was a back-and-forth battle to the buzzer.

The second-half under-4 media timeout wasn’t called until 2:26 when UCLA’s Johnny Juzang (13 points) fouled out of the game with a score of 60-60. A Herb Jones free-throw put Alabama up 61-60 and remained the score up to a timeout called with one minute left on the clock. Alabama’s Juwan Gary fouled out with 46 seconds left. UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. made one of two free throws to tie 61-61.

Alabama was up 62-61 off of a Herb Jones free throw with 36 seconds left. UCLA called time out shortly after with 29 seconds left. Cody Riley put UCLA back up 63-62. Alabama called time out with 14 seconds left.

It was 65-62 UCLA with 4.2 seconds left in regulation when Alabama had to in-bound from the opposite end of the court. Alex Reese pushed the game to overtime with a last-second 3-pointer.