Alabama
15-9, 6-5
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Mississippi State
18-6, 6-5
Alabama Men’s Basketball Falls at Mississippi State, 67-63
2/6/2018 9:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Freshman Collin Sexton went 8-of-10 from the charity stripe to score 18 points while grabbing five rebounds
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Alabama men's basketball team fell to Mississippi State, 67-63, Tuesday night at Humphrey Coliseum. The contest featured eight ties and 11 lead changes as the Crimson Tide, which had won four straight games in Starkville, lost for the first time on the Bulldogs' home floor since Jan. 14, 2012.
Freshman Collin Sexton led the way as he converted 8-of-10 from the free throw line to total a team high of 18 points, while pulling down five rebounds and adding three assists. Sophomore Daniel Giddens, who fouled out after playing just 15 minutes, finished with 11 points, while sophomore Braxton Key also scored 11, while pulling down six boards. Junior Donta Hall finished with eight points, six rebounds, three blocks and three steals in the losing effort.
"Mississippi State has been a hot team at home all year long, especially in SEC play," Alabama head coach Avery Johnson said. "They did a terrific job of defending us, they denied, they were physical and they did a good job of defending the three-point line. They made it tough for us to score inside. We didn't do a good job of taking care of the ball, especially in the first half. You have to give them credit.
"We've been saying all along the SEC is a tough conference. It's the best it has been in years and we have to be able to rise to the challenge, especially on the road. We can't play as sporadic as we played tonight and expect to win a road game in this league. When you lose, you definitely want to look at what you did wrong, but you have to give Mississippi State credit, too. We've been on a little bit of a winning streak against them and they were a hungry tonight and played like it with a lot of enthusiasm and passion."
The Bulldogs took the 30-28 lead heading into halftime after five ties and seven lead changes in the opening stanza. MSU shot 39.3 percent from the field (11-of-28) and held the edge in rebounds, 20-12, while the Crimson Tide shot 36.8 percent from the floor (7-of-19) and held the advantage in bench points, 11-6.
Alabama (15-9, 6-5 SEC) opened the first half shooting 4-of-9 to take the 14-12 edge at the 11:10 mark and continued to maintain its lead, 18-15, at the 7:36 media timeout. Then momentum shifted in MSU's favor, as the Bulldogs snatched the 26-22 lead converting back-to-back three-point plays with 2:42 left in the half and maintained its lead into the break.
Mississippi State (18-6, 6-5) opened the second half knocking down six straight field goals to open up a 39-30 lead at the 16:48 mark. However, the Crimson Tide responded with a 15-5 run over the next five-plus minutes to take a 45-44 lead on a fast-break layup by Key with 11:29 on the clock.
Alabama then extended its lead to 49-45 after capitalizing off of three Mississippi State turnovers to force timeout. The Bulldogs would respond out of the timeout, banking two quick field goals to knot the score at 49 apiece with 7:51 left on the clock.
After another tie and three lead changes, Hall cut MSU's lead to 59-58 on a second-chance dunk, but the Bulldogs made five free throws and a dunk for a 7-1 spurt to take a 66-60 lead with 16 seconds on the clock. Despite a late three pointer by junior Avery Johnson Jr. with 7.6 seconds left on the clock, MSU hit one more free throw to ice the game.
Nick Weatherspoon led the Bulldog offense with 18 points while his brother Quinndary Weatherspoon turned in 13 points.
Alabama will return to Coleman Coliseum Saturday, Feb. 10 to face No. 15 Tennessee. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
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