Tuesday, January 3
Starkville
7:30 PM
Mississippi State
9-4, 0-1
58
vs
68
Alabama
8-5, 1-0
1
2
F
Alabama
32
36
68
Mississippi State
20
38
58
Bulldogs fall short against Alabama in SEC opener.
Bulldogs' Late Rally Falls Short Against Alabama
January 03, 2017 | Men's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State erased a 12-point, first-half deficit but could not garner the victory, falling 68-58 to Alabama in the SEC opener for both teams Tuesday night at Humphrey Coliseum.
MSU saw a three-game winning streak snapped, falling to 9-4 overall and 0-1 in league play in the opening game of the New Year. Alabama improved to 8-5 and 1-0. The Crimson Tide won its fourth straight here for the first time in the series.
Mario Kegler led the Bulldogs with 12 points, while Tyson Carter added 10. Quinndary Weatherspoon matched a season low with 7 points scored, snapping a streak of six-straight games with double-figure scoring. Kegler had a team-high seven rebounds.
The Bulldogs were held to 36.5 percent shooting and finished with a season-low points total.
"That was a tough loss and a tough way to start the conference schedule," MSU coach Ben Howland said. "Alabama did a great job defensively. In the first half, 14 of our 28 shots were from 3-point range. That is way too many guys. Our guys didn't understand how we have to play offensively.
"Up 11-8, we took three really rushed shots. Losing the boards by 17 will not allow you to win any games in the conference. We have to be smart on offense. Alabama did a good job of going inside."
In the opening half, the Bulldogs struggled on the offensive end. MSU only hit 1 of 14 shots from 3-point range and shot 25.0 percent as a team.
A steal by Lamar Peters and layup by Tyson Carter quickly sent the Bulldogs a 9-3 advantage. From there, Alabama answered with a 21-4 run. A layup by Dazon Ingram gave the Crimson Tide a 24-13 lead with 5:36 left in the half.
The Bulldogs were able to chip it down to single digits only once and trailed 32-20 at halftime.
In the second half, the Bulldogs started strong with an 8-0 run. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Weatherspoon and Carter got things going. A layup by Kegler capped the run over the first 1:45 of the second half. The Bulldogs got back within three points at 38-35 on a 3-pointer by Lamar Peters.
After hitting three straight threes, the Bulldogs missed their final four.
An Xavian Stapleton dunk tied the game at 42 with 11:20 left. The Bulldogs would then miss a chance to take the lead on a missed dunk by Aric Holman. The Maroon and White would never take a second half lead.
The final tie was at 44. Alabama followed with the game's next seven points.
"Really proud of the comeback," Howland said. "We missed a layup to take a lead. When you spend that much energy to get back, you have to settle down after that. You can't continue to play at that quick pace."
The Bulldogs had better minutes from the inside game in the second half and got the Crimson Tide in foul trouble. MSU hit 11 of 14 free throws in the second half.
The Bulldogs closed within five at 55-50 on a layup by Peters with 5:47 left. Alabama then scored the game's next nine points to put the contest away.
For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 19 of 52 shots from the field (36.5 percent), 4 of 21 shots from 3-point range (19.0 percent) and 16 of 20 shots from the foul line (80.0 percent). The Crimson Tide hit 24 of 54 shots from the field (44.4 percent), 3 of 13 shots from 3-point range (23.1 percent) and 17 of 22 shots from the foul line (77.3 percent).
Alabama held a 43-26 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 11 assists and 13 turnovers, while the Crimson Tide had nine assists and 17 turnovers.
Alabama received 13 points each from Avery Johnson, Jr. and Ingram, while Riley Norris added 11 points.
MSU hits the road for a 2:30 p.m. start Saturday at LSU. That contest will be televised nationally on the SEC Network.
MSU saw a three-game winning streak snapped, falling to 9-4 overall and 0-1 in league play in the opening game of the New Year. Alabama improved to 8-5 and 1-0. The Crimson Tide won its fourth straight here for the first time in the series.
Mario Kegler led the Bulldogs with 12 points, while Tyson Carter added 10. Quinndary Weatherspoon matched a season low with 7 points scored, snapping a streak of six-straight games with double-figure scoring. Kegler had a team-high seven rebounds.
The Bulldogs were held to 36.5 percent shooting and finished with a season-low points total.
"That was a tough loss and a tough way to start the conference schedule," MSU coach Ben Howland said. "Alabama did a great job defensively. In the first half, 14 of our 28 shots were from 3-point range. That is way too many guys. Our guys didn't understand how we have to play offensively.
"Up 11-8, we took three really rushed shots. Losing the boards by 17 will not allow you to win any games in the conference. We have to be smart on offense. Alabama did a good job of going inside."
In the opening half, the Bulldogs struggled on the offensive end. MSU only hit 1 of 14 shots from 3-point range and shot 25.0 percent as a team.
A steal by Lamar Peters and layup by Tyson Carter quickly sent the Bulldogs a 9-3 advantage. From there, Alabama answered with a 21-4 run. A layup by Dazon Ingram gave the Crimson Tide a 24-13 lead with 5:36 left in the half.
The Bulldogs were able to chip it down to single digits only once and trailed 32-20 at halftime.
In the second half, the Bulldogs started strong with an 8-0 run. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Weatherspoon and Carter got things going. A layup by Kegler capped the run over the first 1:45 of the second half. The Bulldogs got back within three points at 38-35 on a 3-pointer by Lamar Peters.
After hitting three straight threes, the Bulldogs missed their final four.
An Xavian Stapleton dunk tied the game at 42 with 11:20 left. The Bulldogs would then miss a chance to take the lead on a missed dunk by Aric Holman. The Maroon and White would never take a second half lead.
The final tie was at 44. Alabama followed with the game's next seven points.
"Really proud of the comeback," Howland said. "We missed a layup to take a lead. When you spend that much energy to get back, you have to settle down after that. You can't continue to play at that quick pace."
The Bulldogs had better minutes from the inside game in the second half and got the Crimson Tide in foul trouble. MSU hit 11 of 14 free throws in the second half.
The Bulldogs closed within five at 55-50 on a layup by Peters with 5:47 left. Alabama then scored the game's next nine points to put the contest away.
For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 19 of 52 shots from the field (36.5 percent), 4 of 21 shots from 3-point range (19.0 percent) and 16 of 20 shots from the foul line (80.0 percent). The Crimson Tide hit 24 of 54 shots from the field (44.4 percent), 3 of 13 shots from 3-point range (23.1 percent) and 17 of 22 shots from the foul line (77.3 percent).
Alabama held a 43-26 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 11 assists and 13 turnovers, while the Crimson Tide had nine assists and 17 turnovers.
Alabama received 13 points each from Avery Johnson, Jr. and Ingram, while Riley Norris added 11 points.
MSU hits the road for a 2:30 p.m. start Saturday at LSU. That contest will be televised nationally on the SEC Network.
Team Stats
UA
MS
FG%
.444
.365
3FG%
.231
.190
FT%
.773
.800
RB
43
26
TO
17
13
STL
3
7
Game Leaders
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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