Men’s Hoops Eliminated by No. 5 Alabama, 85-48

Friday, March 12

Nashville, Tenn. (Bridgestone Arena)

11:00 AM

Mississippi State

#6 Alabama

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Men’s Hoops Eliminated by No. 5 Alabama, 85-48

March 12, 2021 | Men's Basketball

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Mississippi State men's basketball team was eliminated during Friday's quarterfinal round at the SEC Tournament by top-seeded and fifth-ranked Alabama, 85-48, at Bridgestone Arena.

The Bulldogs (15-14) were led by Iverson Molinar's 18 points. The Panama native has reached double figures in 12 of his last 13 games and in 23 of his 26 appearances on the season. The Crimson Tide (22-6) advances to face Tennessee during Saturday's semifinal round.

Tolu Smith dialed up his third consecutive game in double figures with 13 points. He knocked down four of his six shot attempts and drained five of his seven foul shots. The SEC's leading rebounder also registered six boards.

Abdul Ado came away with six points, 11 rebounds and equaled his season's best with five blocks. He currently sits third in program history with 242 career blocks and 10th with 770 career rebounds.

D.J. Stewart Jr. was limited to a season-low four points coupled with six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Andersson Garcia highlighted State's bench with five points and three rebounds. Derek Fountain secured two points and two rebounds to round out the scoring for the Maroon and White.

For the contest, MSU turned in an 18-of-82 shooting effort (29.0 percent), misfired on 18 of its 19 attempts from three-point territory and was 11-of-16 at the foul line (68.8 percent).

The Bulldogs recorded eight assists versus 18 turnovers, while the Crimson Tide dished out 20 assists and committed nine turnovers.

Mississippi State owned a 44-35 edge on the glass, while the Crimson Tide piled up 47 of the game's 52 points off the bench. The Bulldogs have won the battle of the boards in 23 of their 29 games in 2020-21.

Alabama countered with a 32-of-66 mark from the field (48.5 percent), were 13-of-36 on three's (36.1 percent) and sank all eight of its free throws (100.0 percent).

The Crimson Tide had 11 players contribute in the scoring column, highlighted by three players in double figures. Jahvon Quinerly led the charge with 14 points followed by Jaden Shackelford's 13 points and Juwan Gary's 11 points. The SEC Player of the Year, Hebert Jones, stuffed the stats sheet with eight points, seven assists, seven rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks.

FROM THE BENCH WITH COACH HOWLAND
"First, I just want to talk about the game a little bit. Today was really a bitter pill considering that we played Alabama very competitively both in Tuscaloosa where it was a three-point game with less than a minute to go. They hit a three to go up six. At our place with a minute and a half to go, we had two three-point shots [to tie the game]"

"Give them credit. Alabama's got a great team. They're the best team in our league. They're a team that has a chance to go to the [NCAA] Final Four. Outstanding leadership in terms of [Herbert] Jones and [John] Petty [Jr.], their two seniors. Really phenomenal players. [Jahvon] Quinerly has been great against us every time, he was again today."

"Overall, I think the guys that are young, and that will be returning on this team will have garnered a lot of experience and a lot of learning that's going to help them here in the year to come, which is what we're praying for now. There's an outside chance that we could be invited to post-season play in the NIT. We have to wait till Sunday to find that out."

"I think there's always a sense of urgency. But now the guys that played this year have a lot more experience. We started three sophomores and a freshman at the end of the season with Derek [Fountain] in the starting lineup. We expect those guys to be the leaders of this team moving forward. We'll add some other pieces. That will be a key factor for us moving forward. But there's definitely a sense of urgency to have a really good season next year and get ourselves in the postseason, get back to the NCAA Tournament. That's obviously the goal for us a year from now."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Mississippi State sank two of its first three field goal attempts as Tolu Smith found Abdul Ado for a layup. Then, D.J. Stewart Jr. penetrated and dished to Tolu Smith for a dunk to give the Bulldogs the early 4-3 edge with 17:32 remaining.

Alabama countered with seven straight points courtesy of baskets from John Petty Jr., Jaden Shackelford and Herbert Jones to go up 10-4 at the 16:09 mark. The Crimson Tide stretched their lead to double figures, 20-10, on Jones layup with 11:03 to go.

Alabama busted the game open with a 21-1 run to grab a 30-point advantage, 43-13, capped by consecutive layups from Jahvon Quinerly.

The Crimson Tide connected on 50 percent shooting and drained eight three-pointers to take a 47-19 lead into halftime. Iverson Molinar and Tolu Smith teamed up for 17 of State's 19 points during the opening stanza.

Alabama kept pushing and scored 10 of the opening 12 points to start the second half. The Crimson Tide's margin of victory, 37 points, marked their largest lead of the contest.

Molinar notched 10 of his team-leading 18 points during the second 20 minutes. Andersson Garcia scored the last five points of the contest for the Maroon and White.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State sits at a 15-14 record and will await the announcement of the NIT field of 16 which is Sunday at 7:30 p.m. CT, televised by ESPNU and available online courtesy of the Watch ESPN app.

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.