TUSCALOOSA, Ala. –As the final seconds of what could have been an upset road win ticked by, Lamar Peters, for the first time in the second half, was the spectator.
It was Mississippi State’s sophomore guard that, with the Bulldogs trailing by 19 at halftime, took three consecutive 3-pointers and made all three of them to bring MSU within seven. After it all, he was forced to watch as freshman guard Nick Weatherspoon picked up a loose ball and missed a 3-pointer, MSU’s last genuine shot at completing the comeback.
He was the only one near when Alabama’s Herbert Jones put an exclamation point on the Crimson Tide victory with a final-seconds dunk.
Peters’ 17 points on four made 3-pointers got MSU within range of another quality conference win, yet it leaves with its focus elsewhere. MSU knows its first half was its downfall in Saturday night’s 68-62 loss to Alabama (13-6, 5-2 Southeastern Conference).
In that first half, MSU (14-5, 2-4 SEC) turned it over 10 times leading to 13 Alabama points. It made just two of its 10 3-point attempts and let Alabama collect the first seven offensive rebounds of the game, leading to a total of 10 second-chance points in the first half.
“They were the aggressors and we were on our heels,” MSU coach Ben Howland said. “I was really proud of the fight our guys had, roaring back to give us a chance there.
“In this situation it’s how you start the game. When you dig a hole that big, you can’t expect to win. It’s not allowing yourself to fight that.”
Peters added, “I felt like we came out too lax. We had a lot of 50-50 balls, but we didn’t get any. It starts in practice.”
Peters was proud to, “get hot at the right moment,” for MSU in the second half to get MSU within range, but he had help. Howland said he thought the second-half defense was better and the numbers showed it, as Alabama was held to nine made field goals and 31 percent from the field in the second half.
Alabama coach Avery Johnson stresses to his team to not get, “intoxicated by success,” or equally dejected by failure. He found himself reiterating that message with his team fighting off MSU.
“Some of our practices are harder than this game. So let’s man up and try to get the job done, because they’re not going to quit,” Johnson said.
Peters was helped by a double-double from Aric Holman, 11 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman forward Abdul Ado joined him in scoring 11 points and Quinndary Weatherspoon added 12.
For the second time this season, MSU took to the road against a conference for without Xavian Stapleton. Howland said after the game he was suspended for one game for, “behavior unbecoming of a Mississippi State basketball player.” Howland expects Stapleton back for MSU’s next game, at Kentucky on Tuesday.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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