Field Level Media
Jan 29, 2019
Donta Hall scored 19 points, and host Alabama got a big lift from its bench to defeat No. 22 Mississippi State 83-79 on Tuesday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Reserves John Petty and Riley Norris had 13 and 11 points off the bench, respectively, as the Crimson Tide (13-7, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) won their second consecutive home game against a ranked team. Alabama beat then-No. 20 Ole Miss 74-53 on Jan. 22.
Reggie Perry scored 18 points, Lamar Peters and Quinndary Weatherspoon added 14 each, and Aric Holman had 12 to lead the Bulldogs (15-5, 3-4).
Alabama led by 12 at halftime and extended the margin to 14 on five occasions before Mississippi State came back.
Robert Woodard and Weatherspoon scored five points each during a 12-1 Bulldogs run that trimmed the deficit to 54-51.
Five straight points by Norris helped the Tide rebuild the lead to 12 before the Bulldogs got within 70-63.
The lead grew to 11 before Tyson Carter's two free throws pulled Mississippi State within 75-71 with 1:48 left.
The Bulldogs cut the deficit to 78-75 when Peters made a layup with 42 seconds left. Mississippi State had a chance to tie, but Carter missed a 3-point attempt with 30 seconds to go.
Hall made two free throws before Weatherspoon sank a layup, and Hall added another free throw and Hebert Jones made 2 of 4 late free throws for Alabama.
The score was tied four times before three straight inside baskets gave Alabama a 16-10 lead.
The Tide maintained a lead between five and eight points for nearly seven minutes before Holman's 3-pointer pulled Mississippi State within 28-25.
Tevin Mack and Petty scored four points each as Alabama put together a 10-2 run.
Alex Reese's free throw with three seconds left in the half gave the Tide a 41-29 halftime lead, matching their largest margin of the first half.
Alabama missed all seven of its 3-point attempts in the half and Mississippi State made just 1 of 10. For the game, the Tide were 1 of 15 from beyond the arc and the Bulldogs were 3 of 19.
The big difference came at the foul line, where Alabama was 22 of 36 while Mississippi State was 12 of 22.
--Field Level Media