Tide's Second Half Surge Too Much For MSU To Overcome

Thursday, March 9

Nashville, Tenn. (Bridgestone Arena)

2:30 PM

Mississippi State

16-16, 6-12

Alabama

18-13, 10-8

Mississippi State

Alabama

I.J. Ready's career ended with a 75-55 loss to Alabama on Thursday.

Tide's Second Half Surge Too Much For MSU To Overcome

March 09, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Official Stats Official Stats (PDF)Postgame Comments Jim Ellis' Final Sign Off

NASHVILLE – A cold-shooting start to the second half led to the end of the season for the Mississippi State Thursday afternoon.

The No. 12-seed Bulldogs missed 12 of their first 14 shots in the second half and fell to No. 5-seed Alabama, 75-55, in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena.

The Bulldogs (16-16) finished at .500 or better for the first time since 2012. The 16 overall wins are also most since the 2011-12 squad finished 21-12.

Tyson Carter led the Bulldogs with 13 points, giving the freshman from Starkville 31 points in two tournament games. Quinndary Weatherspoon added 12 points, while Aric Holman had 10 points. Weatherspoon had a team-high seven rebounds, while I.J. Ready – the squad's only senior – had a team-high four assists in his final game.

The Bulldogs never led in the first half though the game stayed competitive.

A 12-5 run pushed the Crimson Tide to a 21-11 lead. Baskets by Weatherspoon brought the Bulldogs back within eight twice. Alabama scored the final five points of the first half to take a 34-22 halftime lead.

Things unraveled quickly to start the second half for the Bulldogs.

A 3-point play by Xavian Stapleton brought the Bulldogs within 37-27 with 17:58 left in the contest. Alabama scored the next 18 points of the game with MSU being held scoreless for a stretch of better than six minutes.

The Crimson Tide would lead by 20 or more the rest of the way.

For the contest, MSU hit 25 of 64 shots from the field (39.1 percent), 2 of 12 shots from 3-point range (16.7 percent) and 3 of 6 shots from the foul line (50.0 percent). Alabama hit 25 of 53 shots from the field (47.2 percent), 8 of 16 shots from 3-point range (50.0 percent) and 17 of 26 shots from the foul line (65.4 percent).

MSU held a 38-36 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had six assists and 12 turnovers, while the Crimson Tide had 16 assists and nine turnovers.

Alabama (18-13) received 17 points from Dazon Ingram on a 7 of 7 night from the floor. Corban Collins added 14 points, while both Donta Hall and Avery Johnson, Jr., each added 10 points apiece. Riley Norris had seven rebounds for the Crimson Tide.