Mark Sears' mother, Lameka, thanked NFL legend Emmitt Smith for his message to her son after getting benched as Alabama basketball faced LSU.

Asked why Mark Sears sat out in the second half of Saturday's win vs. LSU, Alabama coach Nate Oats said: "We played the guys that we thought gave us the best chance to win in the second half."

No. 4 Alabama pulled away from LSU on Saturday night in the second half for an 80-73 win without the services of the SEC's leading scorer entering the weekend, Mark Sears, who logged zero minutes over the game's second half after leading the team with 17 first-half minutes.

Just days after reaching the 2,500 point milestone, Alabama guard Mark Sears was benched in the 2nd half against LSU

When Alabama basketball came out for the second half of Saturday’s win over LSU, regular starting point guard Mark Sears wasn’t on the floor. The Muscle Shoals native did not appear in the entire second half, during which the Crimson Tide pulled off a 80-73 victory after the game was tied at 40 entering halftime.

Alabama basketball star guard Mark Sears was benched in the second half of the Crimson Tide's win over LSU. Here's what coach Nate Oats said about it.

Alabama guard Mark Sears came into Saturday's game against LSU leading the team and the Southeastern Conference in scoring but was held scoreless and spent the entire second half of the Crimson Tide’s

Still, Alabama was just too much as the Crimson Tide's depth eventually wore LSU out, and an 8-0 run in the final four minutes ended any hope of an upset. Alabama is now 6-1 in SEC play and sitting right there with rival Auburn.