Mississippi State
12-8,1-7SEC
#2 Alabama
18-2,8-0SEC
Bulldogs Battle No. 2 Alabama To The Wire
January 25, 2023 | Men's Basketball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala., - Mississippi State took No. 2 Alabama down to the wire on Wednesday night.
The Bulldogs held a lead against the Crimson Tide for the first 30 minutes of play but their upset bid fell just short in a 66-63 setback inside Coleman Coliseum.
"We're not here to have a good showing, we're not here to be close," said head coach Chris Jans. "We came here to win. Our kids are disappointed, and our staff is disappointed. We knew we'd have to play well and we did for a long time. But we also knew they weren't going to go away. They're ranked No. 2 in the country for a reason."
MSU (12-8, 1-7 SEC) started the game on a 10-2 run and led by as many as 11 points in the opening half. The Bulldogs shot 57 percent from the field in the first half and held Alabama to 3 of 16 from behind the arc. But one of those 3-point attempts clanged in at the buzzer, cutting State's lead to 36-29 at the break.
Mississippi State maintained its advantage until the 9:19 mark of the second half when Rylan Griffen hit a corner 3. The Tide extended the lead out to eight with 2:15 remaining but a dunk by Cameron Matthews, a layup by Tolu Smith and a pair of free throws by Deshawn Davis gave the Bulldogs a chance down one possession in the final minute.
"I was real proud of how we handled their run," Jans said. "I thought about calling a timeout a couple of times when it got pretty loud when they overtook us. But we had a couple of possessions there where we quieted them down with some big shots and nice offensive possessions."
Down three, MSU's defense got the stop it needed with 17-seconds remaining. The Bulldogs got two shot attempts up during the waning moments but neither were true, allowing Alabama to improve to 18-2 overall and 8-0 in conference play.
For the game, State shot 46.4 percent from the field and held the Tide to 36.8 percent. The Bulldogs scored 40 of their points in the paint led by Smith's 15-point outing on 6 of 9 shooting.
Davis was the only other Mississippi State player to reach double figures, scoring 14 points along with a team-high four steals.
"Our record doesn't indicate how good we are," Smith said. "I know that might sound real cliché but it's true. This was the No. 2 team in the nation and we lost by three in a game that we should've won. If we play for 40 minutes like this, the outcome would be different in most games and in most cases."
Jahvon Quinerly led Alabama with 14 points followed by Noah Clowney and Brandon Miller with 13 points apiece.
The Bulldogs have another ranked foe on deck on Saturday as they step out of conference to play No. 11 TCU at 3 p.m. inside Humphrey Coliseum as part of the SEC-Big 12 Challenge.
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.
