National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Minnesota 89, Alabama 84
When: 5:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 25, 2017
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
Officials: # Rick Crawford, # Bret Smith, # Brian McConnell
Attendance: 3469

Bedlam broke out in Brooklyn, N.Y., and the Alabama Crimson Tide almost pulled off a miracle -- despite playing the last 10 minutes of the championship game of the Barclays Center Classic with just three players.

Jordan Murphy posted his seventh straight double-double to start the season and No. 14 Minnesota held off No. 25 Alabama 89-84 on Saturday.

Murphy finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Gophers (7-0), but the game will be remembered for the ejection of the entire Crimson Tide bench and the effort of the remaining Alabama players that put a scare into unbeaten Minnesota.

The game turned chippy when Minnesota guard Nick Mason stared at Alabama guard Collin Sexton after shaking free and hitting a 3-pointer.

Mason later received two technical fouls and was ejected. Minnesota coach Richard Pitino also was assessed a technical foul.

With tensions running high, Alabama (5-1) was making a run early in the second half and cut the Minnesota lead to 57-50 with 13:43 to play after Riley Norris knocked down a 3-pointer.

Chaos followed, with several players getting into a shoving match. Ten Alabama players left the bench during a scuffle in the second half and were ejected with 13 minutes left, leaving the Crimson Tide with only five players.

"I haven't (encountered a game such as this one). That's a new one right there," Alabama coach Avery Johnson said. "It's amazing when you come into a game and you don't expect anything like that to happen. But we didn't make any excuses.

"We were still in the huddle drawing up plays, trying to solve problems, and our guys executed with some of the screening action that we ran to try to get some of our guys free."

Minutes after the scuffle and mass ejection, Dazon Ingram fouled out and John Petty turned an ankle, forcing Alabama to finish the game with just three players.

"There was no surrendering on our team, and that's the bright spot about today's game," Johnson added.

Sexton, one of three Alabama players to finish the game, scored 40 points to lead the Crimson Tide. The freshman guard hit 12 of 22 shots and had six rebounds and five assists.

Sexton had a look a 3-pointer that would have trimmed the Minnesota lead to one in the final minutes but misfired.

"(Sexton) could beat a whole team by himself," Pitino said. "He's just that good."

Alabama, playing three-on-five, cut the Minnesota lead to 83-80 with less than two minutes left in the game. But Amir Coffey converted a three-point play and Dupree McBrayer made two free throws to seal the win for the Gophers.

Coffey finished with 12 points for the Gophers.

"I've never seen anything like that in my life," Pitino told reporters after the game. "We don't practice a lot of five-on-three offense."

Norris finished with 13 points and Galin Smith added 10 for the Crimson Tide.

Minnesota owned the first half, storming out to a 19-5 lead behind 10 quick points from Murphy.

The Gophers never trailed in the first half and took a 41-29 lead into halftime.

Murphy had 19 points and 12 rebounds in the first half and was named the tournament MVP.

"That was one of the most bizarre things I've ever been a part of," Murphy said after the game.

NOTES: Minnesota's win was coach Richard Pitino's 100th career victory. ... The game against No. 25 Alabama was the first of two straight against ranked teams for Minnesota. The Gophers host No. 11 Miami on Wednesday. ... This was the third meeting between the programs, with Alabama winning the previous two games. ... The Crimson Tide return home to host Louisiana Tech on Wednesday.
Top Game Performances
 
Alabama   Minnesota
Collin Sexton 40 Scoring Nate Mason 20
Collin Sexton 5 Assists Dupree McBrayer 8
Galin Smith 8 Rebounds Jordan Murphy 14
Collin Sexton 12 Free Throws Made Reggie Lynch 6
Dazon Ingram 1 Steals Reggie Lynch 3
Galin Smith 3 Blocks Reggie Lynch 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Alabama 84 46.6 7-18 23-32 9 31 6 4 13
Minnesota 89 45.5 8-19 21-27 16 38 6 7 12