Bulldogs Fall At No. 25 Alabama, 80-75

Wednesday, February 16

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

14-11,5-7SEC

#25 Alabama

17-9,7-6SEC

Mississippi St.

Alabama

Photo by: Kevin Snyder/MSU Athletics

Bulldogs Fall At No. 25 Alabama, 80-75

February 16, 2022 | Men's Basketball

Box Score WATCH: Coach Howland & Iverson Molinar Presser Box Score (PDF)Quotes (PDF)Photo Gallery

By: Logan Lowery, Assistant Director/Communications

by Logan Lowery, Assistant Director/Communications

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – Mississippi State was unable to sustain a seven-point lead in the second half and fell on the road at No. 25 Alabama, 80-75, on Wednesday night.

The Bulldogs (14-11, 5-7 SEC) built their biggest lead of the evening by going on a 9-2 run over a three-minute stretch aided by a pair of technical fouls that led the ejection of Alabama head coach Nate Oats.

However, the Crimson Tide (17-9, 7-6 SEC) closed the game on a 23-11 run over the final 7:45 to split the season series.

Mississippi State shot 36.1 percent from the field and held Alabama to just 6 of 30 from 3-point range. The Bulldogs went without a made 3-pointer during the first half and were down 34-30 at the break but started the second with six straight makes from behind the arc.

Three of those three's came from freshman guard Cam Carter. Carter, who was making his first career start, finished with 15 points in 28 minutes - both of which were career-highs. His previous personal best came in the season-opening win against North Alabama on Nov. 10 when he scored 11 points in 19 minutes.

Iverson Molinar led all scorers with 22 points, 18 of which came in the second half. It was the ninth time Molinar has reached or surpassed the 20-point plateau this season.

D.J. Jeffries scored 12 of his 15 points during the opening half.

Jahvon Quinerly topped Alabama with 21 points. Charles Bediako scored 15 while Jaden Shackelford and Darius Miles each contributed 12. JD Davison added 10 rebounds for the Tide.

FROM THE BENCH – COACH HOWLAND
"First of all, I'm really proud of our guys' effort tonight. I thought they played incredibly hard against one of the better teams in the country and a team that I think will make a deep run in the tournament because of how hard they are to matchup with. I thought that D.J. Jeffries was terrific tonight. He played well offensively and kept us in there with some great shots. In the second half, Cam Carter, who was terrific tonight, made two big three's. We had another big shot from someone else. I can't remember who it was, [both DJ Jeffries and Iverson Molinar] at the beginning of the first half to give us momentum."

"We had a 7-point lead and had a number of open looks down the stretch that we just couldn't make … Needless to say, it's frustrating. When you look at the stats, their 15 offensive rebounds were huge. That really hurt us. We did not do a good enough job boxing out. They were only 6-of-30 from three, but it did not look like that from where I was sitting."

"We've got to win the next game. We've obviously got to do well in the conference tournament at the very end, but we just have to win a game. Once you win one game, you win another and then get over that hump. I'm hoping that with baseball's opening day at two o'clock that our home game will get some spillover. We really would appreciate it, because we need to beat a tough, hard-nosed and physical Missouri team."

TEAM NOTES

Mississippi State turned the tables on a four-point halftime deficit and went ahead by seven points, 64-57, during the second half. The Crimson Tide scored 18 of the next 20 points and eventually emerged with a five-point decision.
The Maroon and White fell to 14-11 overall and 5-7 in SEC action.
Eight of State's 11 losses have come against NCAA NET Quad 1 foes. Seven of the eight setbacks have come either on the road or at a neutral site. Seven of the eight outings also have come by single digits.
Defensively, the Bulldogs collected seven blocks and seven steals.
As a team, State shot 26-of-72 from the floor (36.1 percent), 6-of-21 from three-point range (28.6 percent), and 17-of-19 from the free throw line (89.5 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Iverson Molinar

Provided a game-leading 22 points coupled with four assists and three steals.
Extended his streak to 25 consecutive games in double figures to start the season.
The 22 points allowed him to surpass Wiley Peck (1976-77-78-79) and Gary Hooker (1976-77-78) to move into 30th place on the program's all-time scoring list.
Equaled a season's best three steals.

Cam Carter

Contributed 15 points during his first collegiate start.
Canned a career-high three three-pointers.
Shot a career-best 4-of-4 from the free throw line
Rounded off the stat sheet with three assists, two rebounds and a steal.

DJ Jeffries

Amassed 12 of his SEC season-high 15 points during the first half.
Marked his fifth game this season with 10-plus points and five-plus rebounds

Garrison Brooks

Tallied eight points and six rebounds
Matched a career-high with four blocks

Tolu Smith

Added four points, three rebounds and a block before fouling out.

Bench

Cameron Matthews turned in a solid all-around effort with four points, a team-leading seven rebounds, two blocks, a steal and an assist.
Andersson Garcia tallied four points, and Shakeel Moore added three points.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State plays a rare home-and-home series with Missouri over the weekend. Friday's meeting is set for 6 p.m. CT from Humphrey Coliseum streamed online only by SEC Network+, while Sunday's matchup is slated for 7 p.m. CT from Mizzou Arena televised by SEC Network. Both games are available online courtesy of the ESPN app and www.ESPN.com/watch.

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.