Mississippi State
9-12, 2-7
Alabama
12-9, 3-6
Dogs Drop Heartbreaker In Overtime To Alabama
February 03, 2016 | Men's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State erased a nine-point deficit with a 16-3 run midway through the second half. However, the Bulldogs could not close the deal in overtime.
Alabama won its sixth straight in the series with an 82-80 overtime win against MSU Tuesday night at Humphrey Coliseum.
Alabama improved to 12-9 overall and 3-6 in league play, while MSU fell to 9-12 and 2-7.
“That was a tough loss,” MSU coach Ben Howland said. “Alabama pressured us early, and we got off to a bad start. I was proud at how we fought back. We held a 64-57 lead, and they missed a shot. We didn't block out, and they hit a three. With seven seconds left, we miss the front end of a one-and-one.
“We had some great opportunities. Give Alabama credit.”
Alabama started strong and quickly built an 11-4 lead. The Bulldogs were then back within four points on a basket from Travis Daniels. Alabama then ran the lead back to seven points at 22-15.
The Bulldogs battled throughout but could never grab a first-half lead.
Down 26-18, the Bulldogs got back-to-back baskets from Daniels and Ware. A 3-point play by Ware then brought the Bulldogs within 36-34 in the final minute of the half.
Alabama scored to take a 38-34 lead at halftime.
A basket by Sword cut the Alabama lead to 43-42 with 15:10 left in regulation time. MSU followed with its 14-0 run over the next five minutes of play. The Bulldogs forced five turnovers and the Crimson Tide missed seven shots.
A 3-pointer by Fred Thomas gave MSU its first lead at 53-51 with 9:53 left. Another 3-pointer by I.J. Ready ran the lead to 56-51.
Another basket by Thomas gave the Bulldogs their largest lead at 64-57 with 5:03 left. Alabama scored the game's next six points. A layup by Ware broke a 65-65 tie with 1:18 left. With the teams tied again at 67-67, Alabama committed a charging foul. On the offensive end, the Bulldogs were playing for the last shot and drew a foul. Sword missed the front end of a one-plus-one and overtime followed.
In the extra period, MSU scored the first four points. However, Alabama responded with a 9-3 run to take a 76-74 lead with 2:05 left. Alabama took the lead for a good on a trey by Coleman with 1:10 left.
Ware finished with a career-high 28 points for the Bulldogs. Travis Daniels added 11 points and Craig Sword added 10 points. Sword and Daniels each had seven rebounds, while Quinndary Weatherspoon and Ware each had six rebounds.
For the contest, MSU hit 33 of 71 shots from the field (46.5 percent), 3 of 18 shots from 3-point range (16.7 percent) and 11 of 16 shots from the foul line (68.8 percent). Alabama hit 27 of 58 shots from the field (46.6 percent), 11 of 29 shots from 3-point range (37.9 percent) and 17 of 27 shots from the foul line (63.0 percent).
Alabama held a 40-39 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 14 assists and 12 turnovers, while the Crimson Tide had 14 assists and 20 turnovers.
Alabama received 25 points from Retin Obasohan, 16 points from Riley Norris, 15 points from Coleman and 12 points from Arthur Edwards.
MSU returns to the road for a Saturday contest against LSU. The Bulldogs and Tigers tip at 6 p.m. from the Maravich Assembly Center and will be shown nationally by ESPN2.
