Alabama
13-7. 4-3
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Mississippi State
15-5, 3-4
Alabama Secures Seventh Consecutive Home Victory Over a Ranked Foe with 83-79 Win Over No. 22 Mississippi State
1/29/2019 11:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide uses dominant play inside paint and strong performance from reserves to collect ninth win in the last 13 games against ranked foes
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. The Alabama men's basketball team took down No. 22/21 Mississippi State, 83-79, in Coleman Coliseum on Tuesday night. The Crimson Tide collected a season-high 54 points in the paint while the bench accounted for 34 points to help lead UA to its seventh consecutive home victory over an AP Top-25 team and third such win in the month of January.
"First of all, I just want to congratulate Mississippi State on the season they're having," Alabama head coach Avery Johnson said. "They're a ranked team for a reason. Coach (Ben) Howland has done really an amazing job, to have his team playing the way they're playing. Yes, we had some malfunctions, but give them credit because we played a tough, nasty, hard-nosed team.
"Fortunately, we got away from them a little bit in the first half, built a lead and it was an uphill battle for them. And then when they cut the lead in the second half, give our guys credit for persevering and being resilient. I like the way we hung in and didn't drop our heads. I'm proud of our guys. We had quite a few guys offensively contribute tonight. When you have eight guys in your rotation with six or seven or more points, it's kind of hard to scout where our offense is coming from."
With the win, Alabama (13-7, 4-3 SEC) improves to 9-4 when playing top-25 teams since last year – a number that leads all SEC programs. Additionally, the 34 bench points marked the sixth time in the last seven games that the UA reserves have scored more than 30 points.
Senior Donta Hall led all scorers with 19 points on the night, while adding seven rebounds and a pair of blocks. Sophomore John Petty Jr. added 13 points and graduate student Riley Norris put in 11 points and five boards, both coming off the bench.
Mississippi State (15-5, 3-4) led for only 44 seconds throughout the entire contest and trailed Alabama by as a many as 14 points early in the second half. However, the Bulldogs twice trimmed the lead to one possession but could not get any closer.
With the Tide leading 53-39 with 10:24 left to play, the Bulldogs went on a 12-1 run over the next 2:18 to cut the lead to 54-51. However, Alabama answered by scoring five straight to take back control.
UA was able to stretch its lead to 11, 74-63, with 3:59 remaining, Mississippi State would again battle back to a single possession by going on a 10-2 spurt to make it 76-73 with 58 seconds remaining. However, the Tide used clutch defense, timely baskets, and clinching free throws to seal the four-point win.
Alabama jumped out to a big advantage in the opening half with Hall leading the way by scoring 12 points before intermission. At the break Alabama led Mississippi State 41-29.
Alabama will next travel to Auburn, Ala., on Saturday to square off against the Auburn Tigers in the first of two meetings between the teams this year. The contest is set to tip at 7 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2.
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