STARKVILLE — In a heavyweight Southeastern Conference basketball battle of the big men Saturday afternoon, the University of Alabama men’s basketball team didn’t have an answer for Mississippi State’s Arnett Moultrie.
Moultrie scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, posting a conference-best ninth double-double, to help No. 20 MSU sneak past Alabama 56-52 in the Humphrey Coliseum.
“(Moultrie) had a great game. He really got going early,” Alabama junior guard Andrew Steele said. “He was really active, and with his length that is really tough for us to deal with. He did a great job.”
Alabama (13-4, 2-1 SEC) couldn’t protect a late four-point lead and saw a golden opportunity at a résumé-building road win. Alabama is 2-3 in true road games this season.
“Mississippi State made some plays late and it really cost us,” Alabama senior forward JaMychal Green said. “Give them credit for stepping up and making shots. However, it is all about defending, and we didn’t a good enough job of that in the second half.”
Back-t-back SEC wins at home will help MSU (15-3, 2-1) protect its national ranking.
“I thought you saw a basketball game played between two great teams,” Alabama head coach Anthony Grant said. “We had an opportunity to get a road win, but we didn’t make the plays there late in the game. Now you take this experience, learn from it, and hope it better prepares for you the next challenge on the road.”
The game between two of the best defensive teams in the league lived up to its advance billing. The Bulldogs missed their first 14 3-pointers. Trailing 46-42, MSU’s Dee Bost finally found the range from 3-point range with 4 minutes, 23 seconds left. Two possessions later, Bost found the range again with a game-tying trey.
With the teams tied at 48, Bost hit his third and final 3-pointer with 1:35 left to give MSU the lead for good.
“Bost made several key shots,” Grant said. “He has been doing that the whole time in this league. It is nothing new. We had our opportunities, and I am proud at how my team fought.”
The score was tied five times and the lead changed hands eight times in the first half. The Bulldogs sprinted to a 14-6 lead before Alabama reeled off nine straight points to grab a lead.
Still, foul trouble mounted for the Crimson Tide. Moultrie and forward Renardo Sidney took advantage to dominate inside.
Moultrie scored 14 points on 6-of-9 first half shooting as MSU built a 27-21 halftime lead.
“I did not think either team could get a lot going offensively, but defensively, both teams really fought,” MSU coach Rick Stansbury said. “I am awfully proud of our team for the way we won.”
Buoyed by a crowd of 8,730, MSU held the better of it for most of the second half. The Bulldogs led by as many as 10, and still led by nine with 13:40 left. MSU managed only one field goal in the next nine-plus minutes as Alabama’s defense rose to the occasion.
“We got some good stops on defense near the end,” Green said. “It really looked like the game was going our way. We also got in transition and made some good plays. Mississippi State recuperated and made the adjustments at the end to stop us.”
Trailing 51-48, Alabama went to the foul line and Green sank two free throws. A block by Tony Mitchell then gave the Crimson Tide another possession. However, Green couldn’t hit a jump shot.
On the other end, the Bulldogs ran the shot clock down before Brian Bryant converted a short jumper in the lane with 11 seconds left.
With fouls to give, MSU forced Alabama inside for a two-point try, instead of a 3-pointer. Trevor Lacey hit a layup with 3.7 seconds left, closing the deficit to 53-52.
That would be the final threat as Bost hit Bryant with a baseball pass on the inbounds and Bryant turned the possession into an old-fashioned game-clinching three-point play in with 1.1 seconds left.
“We had the right game plan, but you have to give them credit for making the right plays,” Steele said.
Green paced the Crimson Tide with 14 points. Mitchell had a team-high 10 rebounds.
Alabama only made one turnover in the game’s final half and outscored MSU 24-14 in points in the paint in the second half. The Crimson Tide also shot eight percentage points in the second half.
“We will learn from this game,” Green said. “We look forward to seeing them again.”
The rematch is Feb. 25 at the Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Alabama will face Vanderbilt and Kentucky this week.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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