Alabama and Texas A&M faced off in a much anticipated matchup tonight, and the Tide prevailed 100-97.

This one was played at a breakneck pace from the beginning. Alabama started off hot and led by as much as nine early, but the Aggies battled back and tied things up at 46 headed into the locker room. Texas A&M shot a scorching 45% from three on 20 tries, including 2-for-3 from old friend Rylan Griffen. London Jemison shot it well to lead the Tide with 10 points, followed by nine from Latrell Wrightsell.

Alabama narrowly won the rebounding battle led by six from Aiden Sherrell. Most encouraging was Alabama successfully limiting turnovers to only two against the hyper-aggressive Texas A&M defense. The Tide didn’t shoot it particularly well from three.

Things stayed close to open the second half, as both teams kept pushing the pace and firing threes. With just over 12 minutes to play, Nate Oats was called for a technical foul after a loose ball foul on Charles Bediako with Alabama up 1. The Aggies made all four of the free throws , then got a stop and made a three on the other end. Houston Mallette answered with a three of his own, and the Aggies took a 70-67 lead into the second TV timeout.

A bucket from Rashaun Agee, a 25-year-old playing on a temporary injunction that seems to bother no one, pushed the lead out to five. Alabama pulled within three, but Jemison was called for a three-shot foul after knocking the ball away from Griffen as he loaded to shoot. It looked like Jemison got all ball, but that’s the way the call went and Griffen made all three for a 77-71 lead with just under nine minutes to play.

After an Alabama timeout, Labaron Philon knocked down a long three to pull within three. A stop on the other end set up Aden Holloway, who got into the paint for a floater and a foul to tie things up at 77 at the eight minute mark. Both teams were already in the double bonus at that stage, each with several players in foul trouble owing to the pace of play and physical nature of the game.

The two teams traded buckets for a couple of trips, but Alabama was able to go on a little 8-0 run to open up a 90-83 advantage. Agee was able to stop it with a strong move on the block and the Tide took a five point lead into the final TV timeout. Amari Allen was fouled headed into the break.

Allen made one of two when play resumed. Charles Bediako managed to grab the offensive board on the miss, but the Aggies forced a jump ball from Holloway to gain possession anyway. Alabama led by six at that stage, but the Aggies immediately went on a 6-0 spurt to tie things back up at 91 apiece with three minutes left.

The barnburner sustained, as neither team could keep the opposing guards out of the paint. A Wrightsell three from the corner put the Tide put 97-95 with a minute to play. The Aggies missed at the other end and Alabama was able to secure the rebound. Holloway then made the play of the night.

With the shot clock running dangerously low, Aden managed to get to the baseline and convert a circus shot through contact. He missed the free throw but Alabama still led by four with only 22 seconds left. It shouldn’t be lost on anyone that the Tide missed three free throws very late in this contest that would have put things out of reach.

Hill quickly took the ball to the hole and cut the lead to 99-97 with 15 seconds to play. Aggies coach Bucky McMillan called his final timeout to set up the full court press, and it worked. The ball was loose on the floor and a jump ball was called with 5.1 seconds left on the clock. Exactly 9.9 seconds had elapsed since the ball was inbounded, meaning that the Tide was all of one-tenth of a second from a 10-second violation.

The ball was inbounded to Allen and he was fouled immediately, but again made only one of two. Nate Oats chose to foul up three and it worked out. Agee missed the first unintentionally and the second intentionally. Griffen did get a fortuitous bounce for an open look at a three to tie, but he left it short and Alabama escaped.

This Texas A&M team is a pain to play and will continue to be. They play fast and hard, and can score in bunches. The Tide sorely needed this win.

Next up is a trip to Auburn. Charles Bediako’s attorneys have a conference call tomorrow to determine whether his injunction hearing will proceed on Friday as scheduled, or if his requested continuance will be granted. If Chuck is still eligible to play on Saturday, that game is going to be a circus.