Labaron Philon Jr. takeover fuels No. 17 Alabama's comeback win at No. 22 Tennessee after Nate Ament leaves with injury

· Yahoo Sports

Labaron Philon Jr. shook his head, seemingly in disbelief. No. 17 Alabama got the switch it wanted from No. 22 Tennessee with less than a minute to go Saturday night in Knoxville.

An Aiden Sherrell screen set Philon up for a 1-on-1 with Volunteers big man J.P. Estrella. Philon patiently waited for his moment to strike like a viper, first teasing a drive and then penetrating before spinning, fading and shooting over the 6-foot-11 Estrella.

Visit sportfeeds.autos for more information.

The jumper swished for the sophomore guard, who outscored the Vols 13-8 in the final six minutes, breaking a tie between the SEC rivals. A Ja’Kobi Gillespie layup that would have forced overtime didn't fall, and Philon's Crimson Tide celebrated a 71-69 comeback victory in a silenced Thompson-Boling Arena.

Tennessee (20-9, 10-6 SEC) had led by as many as 13 points in the second half, but Alabama (22-7, 12-4) continued its now-eight-game win streak.

To make matters worse for the Volunteers, they lost second-leading scorer Nate Ament to a right leg injury.

The standout freshman forward was rolled up on when going for a loose ball with under eight minutes left in the first half. Fortunately for Tennessee, he walked off on his own power and even temporarily returned to the game in the second half.

But shortly after he made a turnaround jumper, he exited the game again and didn't come back. Ament, a projected top-10 pick in this year's NBA Draft, notably turned his right ankle in the first half of a road loss to Missouri on Tuesday. 

He came into the weekend averaging 17.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

This story is being updated.

Read full story at source