Philon's Career Night Not Enough To Defeat Gonzaga

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The Alabama Crimson Tide traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the Tide's second appearance in the Players' Era Festival, where the Crimson Tide ended its run last year with a loss to the Oregon Ducks. Alabama would face a tough schedule in Las Vegas this season, with the Tide's first game coming against the stars of the WCC, the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Alabama has faced Gonzaga before under head coach Nate Oats, with Alabama going 1-1 in two previous matchups with Gonzaga. Monday night's matchup faced a tough Zags team, which started 5-0 for the 2025-26 men's basketball season.

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Gonzaga has done a good job of rebounding so far this season, but against lower-tier competition. The Zags' top KenPom team they've played was No. 54 Creighton, while Alabama's is No. 2 Purdue. Still, Gonzaga was able to out-rebound the Crimson Tide 48-35, in the Tide's 95-85 loss to Gonzaga, Alabama's second loss on the season. The Crimson Tide has now lost its two games against top-five KenPom teams.

Sophomore guard Labaron Philon powered the Crimson Tide tonight with 29 points. It's a career-high for the sophomore guard from Mobile, Alabama, breaking his previous record set in Madison Square Garden, when the Crimson Tide defeated then-No. 5 St. John's 103-96. Philon had 25 points in the victory over the Red Storm.

The Crimson Tide put pressure on Gonzaga with the Tide's pace of play, something that Alabama head coach Nate Oats has heralded since he arrived in Tuscaloosa. Alabama's pace of play ranks No. 6 on KenPom, while Gonzaga's ranked No. 62 in the country coming into the matchup. Gonzaga was just stronger from the floor, making 35-72 from the floor and 6-22 from three-point range. Alabama shot just 31-67 from the floor and 9-29 from three-point range.

The three-ball wasn't Alabama's friend on Monday night, with the Crimson Tide shooting just 31% from beyond the arc, but a couple of well-timed makes from Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway helped Alabama weather the storm from Gonzaga, which held a nine-point lead and all the momentum as the second half rolled on early. Gonzaga did a good job defending Labaron Philon despite his strong performance early in the night, shutting the sophomore guard down. Philon's last made bucket came with 9:51 left in the game.

Alabama kept wanting to take control of the game late, but Gonzaga kept Alabama at arm's length, with well-timed big plays on offense and relying on the Tide to continue its poor shooting night outside of Labaron Philon. Gonzaga held Alabama to no made field goals from 7:00 left in the second half, when it was a two-point game, to 2:34 left in the game, when Gonzaga held a nine-point lead yet again.

Gonzaga kept Alabama at bay for the entire second half before pouring it on late to make the margin of victory look a little uglier for the Tide than it originally was, with a 10-point victory over the Crimson Tide.

Alabama Stat Leaders

Points: Labaron Philon - 29 points
Rebounds: Keitenn Bristow - 11 rebounds
Assists: Labaron Philon - 7 assists

Alabama Players With Double-Digit Points

Labaron Philon - 29 points
Aiden Sherrell - 14 points
Amari Allen - 14 points
Aden Holloway - 12 points

Alabama falls to 3-2 on the season, but will have a chance in 24 hours to right the wrong from Monday night. Alabama will play UNLV on Tuesday, November 25. Tip-off is scheduled for 11:00 p.m. CT.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.