On Sunday, in the most intriguing non-conference game Alabama will play this season, Kira Lewis Jr. was again the star attraction.

The 17-year-old point guard willed the Crimson Tide to another victory — helping it prevail, 76-73, over Arizona in a game that was tense up until the final moments.

In the last 15 seconds, Lewis scored five of Alabama’s last six points and finished with a team-high 20, rising to the occasion during a second half that at one point seemed destined to be a redux of the nightmarish final acts of the Tide’s shocking loss to Georgia State less than a week ago. After all, Alabama had once again squandered a monumental lead — 19 points this time — and for the second straight game set itself up to lose on a buzzer beater just as it had against the Panthers.

Yet Lewis, with his preternatural poise, helped the Tide write a different script Sunday by playing his best basketball in crunch time.

But as Lewis has emerged as Alabama’s Alpha, his own team has made a concerted effort to keep him under the radar. Alabama has yet to make Lewis available for interviews and the freshman didn’t speak after his latest boffo performance Sunday.

So his coach stood in for him, and then only when prompted, reluctantly gave him his due praise — even though it would be a stretch to call it that.

Addressing Lewis’ contributions in the decisive final minute, Avery Johnson said, “His teammates did a great job of setting screens for him and they got in open space and made some really good plays. But he’s just growing and developing. Right now, he’s just concerned about his final exams.”

It was an odd response, considering Lewis has just helped save Johnson from suffering another embarrassing setback.

The Tide had raced out to a 33-14 lead — showing verve against an opponent that didn’t seem ready for what would have been an 11 a.m. tip back home in Tucson.

The Wildcats repeatedly conceded baskets inside as Galin Smith became a factor in the paint. They also hemorrhaged points produced from the perimeter as Alex Reese made multiple shots from beyond the arc. Everything was going Alabama’s way as the Wildcats converted only 31 percent of their field-goal attempts in the opening 20 minutes.

But Arizona mounted a charge that began shortly before halftime — capitalizing on a series of poor possessions by Alabama that ended in bad misses or turnovers. A three-pointer by Brandon Williams shaved Arizona’s deficit to two points with 15:43 left in regulation. Six minutes later, the Wildcats pushed in front, 58-57, when former Alabama guard Justin Coleman scored on a goal-tending violation.

Given what happened against Georgia State, the Tide seemed primed for a collapse.

But Alabama showed some resilience instead.

“We didn’t give up on our players,” Johnson said. “We didn’t give up on ourselves. And it just shows we can come back and handle adversity and handle one of the most disappointing losses in our players’ playing careers and our coaches’ coaching careers. But we’ve just got to keep pushing. This season, we have a long way to go and a lot of chapters left in the book.”

Lewis, right now, is the lead writer in this drama.

On Sunday, he scored eight points in the last six minutes — fighting off Arizona while teaming with Alabama senior forward Donta Hall in the last-ditch effort.

“I always have confidence in Kira shooting the ball,” said Reese.

More importantly, Lewis has that belief in himself, which allowed him to step up as he did in the critical final moments Sunday.

“He’s a killer…for sure,” said teammate Tevin Mack.

And a silent one, as the media has come to discover.

Rainer Sabin is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @RainerSabin