Mississippi State Bulldogs at Alabama Crimson Tide

Key sparks late rally as Alabama rolls past Mississippi St.

Quinndary Weatherspoon knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the second half with 6:08 remaining, but Key responded with a 3 of his own on the other end of the floor.

"Pretty sure we got an offensive rebound, and Dazon (Ingram) had it at the top of the key and I just saw an opening in the corner so I just decided to sprint there and I was wide open," Key said.

The Crimson Tide (13-7, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) expanded the lead further with a 13-2 run that happened in large part thanks to five late Bulldog turnovers and six points from Key who finished the half with 12 points.

Mississippi State (13-7, 4-4) won the battle on the boards (40-37) behind the efforts of Aric Holman who finished with a team-high nine rebounds behind only Alabama's Bola Olaniyan (11).

The Crimson Tide more than made up for it by making 31 of 36 free throws to outscore the Bulldogs by 20 points at the line.

"We made our free throws tonight and tonight was a great night for us to make them," Alabama coach Avery Johnson said.

Lamar Peters scored 13 points to lead the Bulldogs in the loss. In addition to Key, the Crimson Tide had two players match or exceed that point total as Ingram and Riley Norris scored 15 and 13 points, respectively.

"Overall I'm proud of our team," Johnson said. "We've had a long week for a lot of reasons, because a week ago we weren't a happy basketball team. The Sunday following that game (at Auburn) we were very dejected, but I like the way they've responded."

BIG PICTURE

Mississippi State: After scoring 84 points or more in five of the last six games, the Bulldogs offense struggled inside the confines of Coleman Coliseum on Saturday.

INJURIES

Mississippi State's only senior, I.J. Ready, was unable to play more than two minutes against the Crimson Tide after straining what appeared to be a calf muscle during warmups. He was averaging 9.1 points per game for the Bulldogs before Saturday and Mississippi State coach Ben Howland said his return date is unknown.

HE SAID IT

Johnson on losing the lead in the second half: "When you're up 10 or 12 then we have a 2-on-1 break and then we go into the Harlem Globetrotters routine, except we don't have Curly Neal and all of them don't even know who Curly Neal is."

UP NEXT

Alabama: The victory allows the Crimson Tide to hold onto its No. 4 spot in the SEC ahead of a road showdown on Wednesday with an Arkansas Razorback team sits only one game back.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs can match last season's win total with a victory over in-state rival Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi on Tuesday.

OLD OLD

Braxton Key scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Alabama defeated Mississippi State 71-62 inside Coleman Coliseum on Saturday.

Quinndary Weatherspoon knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the second half with 6:08 remaining, but Key responded with a 3 of his own on the other end of the floor.

The Crimson Tide (13-7, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) expanded the lead further with a 13-2 run that happened in large part thanks to five late Bulldog turnovers and six points from Key who finished the half with 12 points.

Mississippi State (13-7, 4-4) won the battle on the boards (40-37) behind the efforts of Aric Holman who finished with a team-high nine rebounds behind only Alabama's Bola Olaniyan (11).

Lamar Peters scored 13 points to lead the Bulldogs in the loss. In addition to Key, the Crimson Tide had two players match or exceed that point total as Dazon Ingram and Riley Norris scored 15 and 13 points, respectively.

BIG PICTURE

Mississippi State: After scoring 84 points or more in five of the last six games, the Bulldogs offense struggled inside the confines of Coleman Coliseum on Saturday.

UP NEXT

Alabama: The victory allows the Crimson Tide to hold onto its No. 4 spot in the SEC ahead of a road showdown on Wednesday with an Arkansas Razorback team sits only one game back.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs can match last season's win total with a victory over in-state rival Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi on Tuesday.

How can I watch Mississippi State vs. Alabama?

• TV Channel: Mississippi State at Alabama 2021 College Basketball, week 12, is broadcasted on SEC Network.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo Free trial.
  Try Vidgo for free.