Mississippi State
12-4,1-2SEC
Alabama
11-5,3-0SEC
Dawgs Drop Tight Contest To Tide
January 13, 2024 | Men's Basketball
State falls 82-74 on Saturday night.
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State fell to Southeastern Conference foe Alabama 82-74 Saturday night in its third league game of the season.
The Bulldogs are now 12-4 overall and 1-2 in SEC play.
The back-and-forth matchup featured nine lead changes and three ties. The Bulldogs got off to a quick 15-6 lead early on before the Crimson Tide battled back with a 17-6 run to go ahead 23-21. Alabama led 40-38 at halftime and by as many as 10 in the second half, but the Bulldogs erased that deficit and took a 70-69 lead at the 4:32 mark of the final period with a layup by graduate big man Tolu Smith.
The score sat at 74-all following a Cameron Matthews layup with 2:42 to play. However, Alabama scored the game's final eight points down the stretch to claim the victory.
Smith tallied his first double-double of the season and 26th of his remarkable Bulldog career, putting up a team-leading 15 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Josh Hubbard provided 14 points off the bench, scoring nine during the Bulldogs' comeback with two 3-pointers. Senior Shakeel Moore scored 13, his second most this season, with Matthews adding 12, which stands as his eighth game of the season in double figures.
Graduate forward D.J. Jeffries stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals, while Smith and graduate guard Dashawn Davis dished out three assists a piece.
The Bulldogs shot 42.6 percent from the field, 7-of-17 from beyond the arc and 15-of-27 from the free-throw line while outrebounding the Crimson Tide 37-36. Alabama, led by senior Marks Sears with 22 points, connected on 43.1 percent of its field goals, 10 of its 28 3-pointers and 22 of its 26 foul shots. Senior Latrell Wrightsell Jr. scored 19 for the Tide with sophomore Rylan Griffen putting up 17.
Mississippi State is back in action on Wednesday, when they'll be in Lexington to take on the No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats. Tip time is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised by ESPN 2.
