No matter what happened on Saturday, Grant Nelson undoubtedly brought pride and excitement to this little town of Devils Lake.
His magical run with Alabama finally ended in the Final Four in Arizona on Saturday. The Crimson Tide faced a hot opponent in UConn, and they were competitive for most of the contest but couldn’t keep up in an 86-72 loss.
Devils Lake was mentioned in the lineup announcements, letting the crowd and TV audience know where Nelson hails from. He made an immediate difference in the game, grabbing a defensive rebound and starting the scoring with a three-pointer.
UConn scored seven straight points, but Rylan Griffen kept Alabama in it with a three. That’s the way much of the game went: UConn would get a lead, but Alabama would fight right back.
Nelson maneuvered to the rim for a layup, cutting the Huskies’ lead to 10-8. UConn swished a three, but Aaron Estrada countered with his own triple, and Nelson grabbed another rebound that led to Estrada tying it up.
Latrell Wrightsell Jr. put Alabama up 18-15. A Griffen three made it a 23-18 lead, but UConn clawed back to go up 28-25. An Estrada three tied it back up, and Wrightsell Jr.’s second triple put Alabama ahead 31-30.
But the Huskies came back with five straight points. Nelson had a pair of free throws down the stretch of the first half. He went into halftime with seven points and seven rebounds on the night, Alabama trailing 44-40.
The Tide got off to a slow start in the second half, letting the deficit extend to eight. But Estrada put them back in it once again, making five straight points. Griffen made it a one-point game. The Huskies stretched their lead back to eight, but Mark Sears swished a three-pointer.
Then Nelson got going again. His first points of the second half came on a highlight-reel one-handed dunk with a guard on him. He made Alabama’s next two baskets as well, tying the game at 56 apiece.
But UConn rattled off a quick 8-0 run with a dunk and multiple quick routes to the rim. After a scoring drought of over a minute for both teams, Sears got Alabama back in the points column with a layup.
It just wasn’t quite enough for the Tide. Nelson made a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 71-63 with less than five minutes left, but they didn’t have any more comebacks left in them. UConn’s lead climbed to double digits.
Nelson still went out with a strong performance. He ended up with a double-double — 19 points and 15 rebounds.
He’ll now have some time to think about his future. He still has another year of college elibility, but his NBA draft stock has risen with his recent performance and he may very well declare for the draft.
