It was a back-and-forth game throughout, with 12 lead changes, and ultimately No. 18 Alabama got past Oklahoma, 83-81, Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners’ Nijel Pack missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Trailing by two points, OU called timeout with four seconds remaining, and on the ensuing inbound play Pack passed the ball to Mohamed Wague, who passed it back to Pack for a 27-foot shot that hit the back of the rim. Wague tried to tip the ball into the net, but it fell out as time expired.

It was the fourth straight loss for the Sooners, dropping their record to 11-7, 1-4 SEC. Alabama won for the second consecutive time improving to 13-5, 3-2 SEC.

The Sooners played well in the first half and had an 11-point halftime lead, 44-33. OU fell behind 59-55 with 11:05 remaining but battled back to take a 73-67 lead with 4:51 to go. The score was tight the rest of the way.

“To our credit, we bounced back,” said OU head coach Porter Moser. “We tied it up and came back and had a seven-point lead. We had a six-point lead and [Labaron] Philon hit back-to-back threes, you gotta give him credit.”

Oklahoma was led by Xzayvier Brown with 21 points. He has scored at least 20 points in a team-leading eight games this season, including six times in the last nine games. Derrion Reid, a transfer from Alabama, logged one of his better career games, by making 6-of-11 shots for 16 points, a team-high nine rebounds and three assists. Tae Davis contributed 14 points and seven rebounds while Pack finished with 12.

The Crimson Tide was led by Labaron Philon who finished with a game-high 23 points on 8-for-19 field goals and 3-for-7 from 3-point range. Aiden Sherrell added 21 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Oklahoma was scheduled to play at South Carolina on Tuesday. The Sooners play at Missouri on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN2.