Cleveland, OH
No. 2 Alabama Basketball Squashes Saint Mary’s to Secure Spot in Sweet 16
CLEVELAND–– Alabama basketball is rolling into the Sweet 16 for the third straight season under Nate Oats.
The 2-seed Crimson Tide beat 7-seed Saint Mary’s 80-66 inside Rocket Arena in Cleveland on Saturday night behind a balanced scoring effort and a couple highlight-reel dunks.
“I thought we had great leadership tonight, showed a lot of toughness,” Oats said after the game. “We said the tougher team is going to win this one, and that’s one of the tougher teams in the country. Our guys really stepped up and met the challenge there tonight.”
Saint Mary’s came into the game as one of the slowest-playing teams in the country and had not allowed a team to score 80 or more points in a game since 2022.
Alabama’s defense was stifling in the first half. Rebounding was an emphasis from Oats coming into the game, and the Tide dominated on the boards in the first half. Saint Mary’s clawed its way back in the second half in both categories, but the Crimson Tide was too much to overcome.
The first 10 minutes of the game were going exactly the way Saint Mary’s wants to play with the teams tied at 13-13 at the under-12 media timeout. Alabama forward Grant Nelson hit a 3-pointer out of the timeout, and that seemed to unlock the Crimson Tide offense.
Alabama held Saint Mary’s without a field goal for over five minutes and was able to build up a double-digit lead and headed into halftime up 42-29. Because of foul trouble, Mark Sears only played 11 minutes in the first half. Other Crimson Tide players were able to step up and pick up some of his normal workload.
The Gaels showed some fight in the second half and would never let the Tide fully pull away, but every time Alabama needed an answer, it got one. The game was never truly in doubt. Saint Mary’s only led for 30 seconds total in the game.
Six different Crimson Tide players finished in double figures led by Chris Youngblood with 13. Clifford Omoruyi had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, including this reverse dunk that got the Crimson Tide crowd on its feet.
CLIFF OMORUYI FINISHES OFF THE LOB 🤯#MarchMadness @AlabamaMBB pic.twitter.com/wRDVVaRloX
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2025
“That’s what we’re known for really is how deep our team is and how fast we play,” Alabama forward Derrion Reid said.
Alabama will face 6-seed BYU in the Sweet 16 in Newark, New Jersey on Thursday. The tipoff time will be announced later tonight.
“We’re going to have to really lock in and coaches are going to have to really do a good job getting our guys ready and then our guys are going to have to execute the plan is whatever we decide to put in and we’re going to have to make adjustments to it because I’m sure he’ll make adjustments,” Oats said about facing BYU. “Yeah, I’m looking forward to playing in the Sweet 16.”
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Some northeast Ohio Spectrum customers are experiencing outages on Wednesday afternoon after a plow truck hit a utility pole.
According to a Spectrum spokesperson, Spectrum customers in the Cleveland area are experiencing a service disruption after a salt or plow truck hit a utility pole and damaged fiber lines in Cleveland Heights.
“Our teams responded immediately and are working diligently to make the necessary repairs to restore services for our customers,” Spectrum said.
This is a developing story. Return to 19 News for updates.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (20-16) vs. Detroit Pistons (25-9)
Where: Rocket Arena – Cleveland, OH
When: Sunday, Jan. 4 at 2 pm EST
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio, FanDuel Sports Network App, NBA League Pass
Point spread: Not yet set
Cavs injury report: Jarrett Allen – QUESTIONABLE (illness), Dean Wade – QUESTIONABLE (knee), Sam Merrill – QUESTIONABLE (left ankle sprain), Larry Nance Jr. – OUT (calf), Max Strus – OUT (foot), Chris Livingston – OUT (G League), Luke Travers – OUT (G League)
PIstons injury report: Jalen Duren – OUT (ankle), Tobias Harris – OUT (hip), Isaac Jones – OUT (G League), Bobi Klintman – OUT (G League), Caris LeVert – OUT (knee), Wendell Moore Jr. – OUT (G League)
Cavs expected starting lineup: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen
Pistons expected starting lineup: Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Ronald Holland II, Isaiah Stewart
Previous matchup: The Cavs defeated the Pistons 116-95 on Oct. 27.
Cleveland, OH
West side Cleveland mom shot in her face during carjacking and lives to tell 19 News about it
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – On Friday, just two days into the new year, 38-year-old Cleveland mom, Tiffany Muscatell, reveals what happened that led to her being shot in her face by a stranger.
Woman shot on Cleveland’s West Side during carjacking
She spoke exclusively with 19 News senior reporter Harry Boomer late Friday afternoon.
The shooting happened around 7:30 a.m. in the 7900 block of Madison Avenue, Cleveland police said.
“What Happened? I was taking my son to my mom’s house, and a guy held me at gunpoint. Told me to get on the ground. I got on the ground. I didn’t have any money. He got into the car, told me to get my son out. It took too long. He threw me out the back and the gun went off. Then he took my son out and threw him on the ground.”
Muscatell was rushed to Metro Health Medical Center by EMS with a gunshot wound to her face.
She has more than a dozen stitches and is home to begin the healing process.
Several of her neighbors expressed outrage about what happened to her and her young son.
Here’s Howard Fetterman, who lives in the same Detroit Shoreway community as she does.
“Really, a baby with her. That’s ridiculous and insane. I think it’s disgusting for somebody to shoot a lady with a baby. They ought to catch the son-of-a-gun.”
Police found Muscatell’s car a short time after the carjacking near her home. The shooter is still on the loose.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
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