Alabama trailed by five points and it was getting chippy on the Crimson Tide bench. Players missed assignments and heard about it when they subbed out. Offensive rebounds were powering No. 13 Charleston. Oats looked to his bench and plucked out two starters and a player sparsely used. Mouhamed Dioubate threw his warm-up shirt off.

After forcing a steal on his first play, Dioubate chucked a pass to a Charleston player; he traded turnovers and put Alabama in a six-point hole. Dioubate kept the motor on. He drew a foul a couple of trips down the floor later. He tipped one pass out of bounds and stole the inbound for a dunk.

Dioubate then grabbed a defensive board and triggered a fast break that capped a 7-0 UA run, giving No. 4 Alabama a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. In the postgame locker room after Alabama won 109-96, sending it to Sunday’s Round of 32, Dioubate’s spark was a talking point.

“Thought our rebounding and defense picked up in the first half after we got down six when Mo Dioubate and Mo Wague came in and really got the energy turned the right way,” head coach Nate Oats said.

“I feel like that possession changed the momentum in the game,” Dioubate said. “When me and Mo came in, we did whatever we could to change the energy.

“I try to play as hard as I can to get the other guys going. … My minutes, everything, I got to work for it. I never know when I’m gonna get in a game so I stay ready.”

Dioubate and Wague combined for a plus-27 in the decisive first half that powered Alabama’s win. Dioubate, a freshman, averaged 9.1 minutes per game and played eight in the first half. He finished with six points, four rebounds, two steals and an assist.

The Cougars entered with the 11th-best scoring bench in the country, one of its potential advantages over Alabama’s roster. Yet, with a pair of timely 3-pointers by Jarin Stevenson, Alabama’s bench scored 37 points compared to Charleston’s 31. It was the highest-scoring night for UA’s reserves since putting up 47 against Mississippi State on Feb. 3.

“Think these guys have grown together and really come to love each other and they want to keep playing together,” Oats said. “That’s why people compared this team to two years ago because both teams’ defense wasn’t great. I think this team is different. … They got a bunch of really good guys that want to keep this thing going as long as we can.”

The Tide’s stars on Friday were Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Mark Sears (47 points combined), but its depth will be tested on short rest to squash potential Cinderella and 12-seed Grand Canyon with a quick Sunday (6:10 p.m. on TBS) turnaround.

Against the Cougars, Sam Walters added nine points, including a dunk that popped the Alabama bench in the second half. Wague’s six points were his first in eight games. Nick Pringle scored five and was Oats’ answer when he grew frustrated about Alabama’s interior defense.

Pringle, who got to Spokane, Washington, late for a “personal issue,” kept his role as a constant talker and sounding board on the Alabama sideline.

“He has great energy. He brings the huddles together,” Stevenson said. “Sometimes I get mad myself when I make a mistake on defense or miss a shot. He’s always there to lift my head back up.”

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].