‘Forever My Home’: Mark Sears Closes Coleman Coliseum Chapter with 30-Point Outing

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— One of the best players in Alabama men’s basketball history played his final game in Coleman Coliseum on Tuesday night. Though it ended in a loss, point guard Mark Sears demonstrated just what’s made him so indispensable to the program over his three-season stint.

The Muscle Shoals, Ala., native scored 30 points for the No. 7 Crimson Tide in its 99-94 defeat at the hands (or, perhaps, jaws) of the No. 5 Gators. It was his third 30-point performance in his last five games. Sears wasn’t at his sharpshooting best on Senior Night, only hitting a pair of triples, but made 10 baskets from the field.

Scoring in high numbers has been the name of the game for Sears, who set the single-season program scoring record last year en route to the program’s first-ever Final Four appearance. Such was the case again on Tuesday. He also had five assists, six rebounds and didn’t turn it over once.

“This place is always gonna be my home,” Sears said. “It sucks the way, how it ended at Coleman, but it will forever be my home.”

Head coach Nate Oats commented on the totality of Sears’ Alabama career and his accomplishments in the buildup to the game. Oats has seen a lot of Sears’ transformation as a player and his development since the latter’s transfer in from Ohio ahead of the 2022-23 season.

“He’s done a lot for us,” Oats said. “For a kid from Alabama to do what he’s done these last three years at Alabama, would’ve been nice to send him out on a win on Senior Night. It’s good, the amount of people that stayed to recognize him.”

He added that Sears has been vital to Alabama being in the top 10 of the national rankings for the entire season so far, with one game left on the regular season schedule at No. 1 Auburn on Saturday.

“He’s had some pretty efficient games here over the last month,” Oats said.

Tuesday was not by any means Sears’ last game in an Alabama uniform. With the SEC Tournament and beyond still ahead (Alabama clinched a double bye in Nashville when Oklahoma beat No. 15 Missouri), the Crimson Tide’s goals are still in front of it.

However the upcoming stretch goes, when all is said and done, Sears will go down as a centerpiece in some of the program’s most memorable moments. That’s not just recently, but rather reflective of his tenure as a whole. In addition to his individual accolades, he’s been part of a No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, been an SEC champion and (of course) helped take down the wall to the Final Four.