Alabama (6-1), which also got 13 points each from JD Davison and Juwan Gary, found itself in the consolation bracket after losing its tournament opener to coach Rick Pitino’s Iona team. Davison added 10 assists.
“We took an ‘L’ the first game but it’s not the end of the world,” Ellis said. “You just got to learn from it and move on. I think tonight showed how we bounced back from that.”
The Crimson Tide trailed by as many as nine points but grabbed a 33-30 halftime lead thanks to Jahvon Quinerly’s 3 with 2 seconds left.