Alabama’s outburst against BYU in the Sweet 16 is one for the record books.
With his ninth 3-pointer of the game Thursday night, Alabama’s All-America guard Mark Sears pushed the Crimson Tide to 22 for the game, a new record for 3-pointers in the NCAA tournament.
Sears’ 3-pointer with 7:41 remaining extended Alabama’s lead to 97-76 and gave the Crimson Tide plenty of time to pile on to their new-found record.
When Alabama was done, it had added on three more 3s on a scorching 25-of-51 (49%) effort from 3-point distance en route to a 113-88 win. Alabama’s 51 3-point attempts are also a new NCAA tournament record.
Advertisement
Sears finished the night with 34 points, eight assists, three rebounds and three steals. He shot 10 of 16 from long distance.
He wasn’t alone, of course. Reserve guard Aden Holloway also caught fire from 3 on a 6-for-13 effort en route to 23 points, three assists and two steals. Chris Youngblood was 5 of 11 from 3 and added 19 points from the starting lineup. Labaron Philon (2 of 3) and Aiden Sherrell (2 of 2) added two 3-pointers apiece.
Alabama advances to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season after advancing to the Final Four in 2024. It will take on the winner between Duke and Arizona in the East regional final.
Alabama passes iconic LMU team
The previous record for 3-pointers stood for 35 years and was held by the legendary 1989-90 Loyola Marymount team led by Bo Kimble.
Advertisement
On March 18, 1990 LMU hit 21 3-pointers in a 149-115 win over Michigan in the second round of the NCAA tournament. That night, it was actually Jeff Fryer who led the way on an 11-of-15 shooting night from 3 en route to 41 points. Fryer holds the record for most individual 3-pointers in an NCAA tournament game and is the only player to have ever hit more than Sears on Thursday.
Kimble struggled that night from long distance but still managed 37 points while shooting 1 of 8 from 3. That game was part of LMU’s run to the Elite Eight that season, just weeks after the death of star forward Hank Gathers.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
