No. 22 Men’s Hoops Handed 83-79 Setback at Alabama

Tuesday, January 29

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

7:30 PM

Mississippi State

15-5 (3-4SEC)

Alabama

13-7 (4-3SEC)

Mississippi State

Alabama

Photo by: Blake Williams/MSU Athletics

No. 22 Men’s Hoops Handed 83-79 Setback at Alabama

January 29, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Press Conference Photos Box Score (PDF)

by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – Reggie Perry provided 14 of his career-high 18 points during the second half, and No. 22 Mississippi State nearly overcame a 14-point second-half deficit before falling 83-79 to Alabama on Tuesday night at Coleman Coliseum.

Perry has registered back-to-back games in double figures for the second time in his career. He knocked down 9-of-12 from the floor, grabbed seven rebounds and swatted a pair of blocked shots.

The Bulldogs (15-5, 3-4 SEC) faced a 14-point hole at 45-31 during the opening minutes of the second half. Mississippi State pulled within three points on five occasions which included four times inside the final minute. However, Alabama (13-7, 4-3 SEC) was able to connect on 7-of-10 at the foul line to salt the contest away.

A key to the rally for the Bulldogs was a 55 percent shooting clip on 21 made field goals in the second half

Lamar Peters and Quinndary Weatherspoon secured 14 points apiece. Weatherspoon tacked on five rebounds and a game-leading three steals, while Peters distributed four assists coupled with a pair of steals of his own.

Aric Holman came away with 12 points, eight rebounds and two assists. The eight rebounds allowed Holman to move past Larry Fry (1973-74-75) for 18th place on the program's all-time list.

Nick Weatherspoon tallied seven points and four rebounds before he left the game due to injury towards the end of the first half whereas Robert Woodard II chipped in seven points and seven rebounds. Abdul Ado picked up seven rebounds and three blocks.

Mississippi State battled to a 43-39 rebounding advantage over the Crimson Tide which entered the game as one of the SEC's top rebounding squads. The Bulldogs hauled down 19 offensive rebounds but were only able to muster a 19-18 edge in second-chance points.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Down 53-39 at the 14:35 mark, Mississippi State made its initial move behind 12-1 flurry over the next 2:29 off the clock.

Robert Woodard II began the comeback effort with a three-pointer and a pair of free throws sandwiched between a Tyson Carter jumper to make it 54-46 with 13:18 remaining. Then, Quinndary Weatherspoon added back-to-back driving layups fueled by a traditional three-point play to draw the Bulldogs back to 54-51 with 12:06 to go.

Alabama answered with 10 of the next 13 points capped by a Riley Norris three-point play to put the Crimson Tide back ahead 64-54 with 9:28 left.

The Bulldogs put together one last charge behind Reggie Perry. The freshman pumped in eight points and buried a midrange jumper from the top of key courtesy of Lamar Peters to trim the Alabama lead to 76-73 with 58 seconds left.

At 78-75, Mississippi State was able to force an Alabama turnover and had a chance to tie. However, Carter's potential game-tying, three-point attempt was blocked by Kira Lewis, Jr. The Crimson Tide converted on 7-of-10 at the free throw line inside the final 58 seconds.

A key for Alabama was a 54-44 advantage in paint points to offset connecting on just one three-pointer. The Crimson Tide received 19 points and seven rebounds from Donta Hall, 13 points from John Petty, Jr. and 11 points from Riley Norris.

Alabama broke an early 10-10 tie with six consecutive points. An Aric Holman trey at the 5:28 mark brought the score to 28-25, but the Crimson Tide were able to stretch the advantage to 41-29 heading into halftime.

The Bulldogs had 10 assists and 13 turnovers, while the Crimson Tide had 11 assists and 11 turnovers.

For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 32-of-71 shots from the field (45.1 percent), 3-of-19 shots from 3-point range (15.8 percent) and 12-of-22 shots from the foul line (54.5 percent).

The Crimson Tide hit 30-of-61 shots from the field (49.2 percent), 1-of-15 from 3-point range (6.7 percent) and 22-of-36 shots from the foul line (61.1 percent).

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs wrap their annual home-and-home series at Ole Miss on Saturday. Tip time is slated for 2:30 p.m. from The Pavilion. The game will be televised by SEC Network and available online through the WatchESPN platform.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching 'HailStateMBK' on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.