Alabama Vs Tennessee — Philon’s late jumper caps 71-69 comeback in Knoxville
In alabama vs tennessee on Feb. 28, 2026, No. 17 Alabama rallied to beat No. 22 Tennessee 71-69 at Thompson-Boling Arena, a comeback sealed when sophomore guard Labaron Philon Jr. hit a go-ahead jumper with less than a minute remaining.
Alabama Vs Tennessee: Philon finishes strong
An Aiden Sherrell screen set Philon up for a 1-on-1 with Volunteers big man J. P. Estrella, and Philon — first feinting a drive, then penetrating before spinning, fading and shooting over the 6-foot-11 Estrella — drained the jumper that broke the tie in the final minute of the game on Feb. 28, 2026.
Philon outscored Tennessee 13-8 in the final six minutes and finished with 23 points as Alabama rallied from as much as a 13-point second-half deficit to win 71-69 in Knoxville.
Nate Ament exits after right leg injury
Tennessee lost its second-leading scorer, freshman forward Nate Ament, after he was rolled up on going for a loose ball with under eight minutes left in the first half; he walked off on his own power but later exited again in the second half and did not return following a turnaround jumper.
Ament came into the weekend averaging 17. 9 points and 6. 5 rebounds per game, had notably turned his right ankle in the first half of a road loss to Missouri on Tuesday, and is a projected top-10 pick in this year's NBA Draft.
Scoring and shooting: Wrightsell, Gillespie and the 3-point drought
Latrell Wrightsell Jr. piled up a season-high 25 points and went 6 of 9 from beyond the arc for Alabama, finishing two points higher than Philon's 23, while Tennessee’s Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 26 points and saw his potential game-tying layup miss late in the closing seconds.
Tennessee made only four 3-pointers and shot 22. 2% on long-range attempts in the 71-69 loss at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tale of two halves and the team implications
The game in Knoxville was described as a tale of two stories: Tennessee led by as many as 13 points in the second half, but Alabama extended its winning streak to eight games with the comeback victory and now has five comebacks of at least 10 points this season.
Conversely, Tennessee is up to five blown leads of 10 or more points during the 2025-26 campaign, and the loss dropped the Volunteers to 20-9 overall and 10-6 in SEC play while Alabama improved to 22-7 overall and 12-4 in the conference.
Fan reaction and a late social burst
A social post on March 1, 2026 captured the moment with the all-caps refrain "PHILON. PHILON. PHILON.," echoing the game-winning sequence that left Thompson-Boling Arena quiet after Alabama's comeback.
Unclear in the provided context on what is next for either team’s schedule or the immediate recovery timeline for Nate Ament.
