Mark Sears stats today: How did Alabama guard fare vs BYU Cougars in March Madness Sweet 16? (Mar. 27)

Mark Sears erupted for his second-best March Madness scoring performance to lead Alabama past BYU 113-88 on Thursday in the Sweet 16 matchup. The 6-foot-1 guard scored 34 points on 11 of 18 shooting alongside eight assists, three rebounds and three steals. He went to the charity stripe twice, converting both attempts.

The guard went to work early, impacting 19 of Crimson Tide's first 24 points before subbing out after the first 10 minutes. He scored 11 of these on 4 of 5 shooting while dishing open looks to Grant Nelson, Aden Holloway and Labaron Philon. His aggressive approach gave Bama early control of the momentum.

Mark Sears then subbed in with 8:37 left in the half and immediately scored eight straight points, helping Alabama lead 51-40 at halftime. The senior earned his first free throws a little over a minute into the second half, scoring the Tide's first eight points.

As Sears picked up two early fouls in the stretch, Nate Oats called the guard to the bench once again. However, the Crimson Tide had mounted a significant 68-58 lead by this time.

They extended the difference to 14 before Mark Sears took the floor for his last minutes of a Sweet 16 game. He dished an open three to Chris Youngblood on the first possession and one to Aden Holloway less than a minute later. The senior then made three back-to-back treys to call it a night.

Despite his multi-dimensional impact, the biggest highlights from the super-senior's night came from long range. Sears attempted a career-high 16 triples, sinking 10 of them for his best 3-point shooting night ever.

Mark Sears helps Alabama make history vs BYU

Thanks in large part to Sears's incredible shooting performance, the Crimson Tide made history by breaking the record for most threes in an NCAA tournament game (25). Had the team not made any 2-point shots, they would have still defeated BYU.

With the win, Nate Oats' team qualifies for its second consecutive trip to the Elite Eight. They face the winner of the contest between Duke and Arizona at the Prudential Center.