STARKVILLE — With its NCAA tournament hopes hanging in the balance, Mississippi State stepped up.
After suffering a 21-point road loss to Alabama (15-13, 7-8 SEC) in January, the Bulldogs (18-10, 9-6) avenged that defeat with a 80-73 victory against the Crimson Tide on Tuesday at Humphrey Coliseum.
“That’s a huge, huge win for us,” MSU coach Ben Howland said. “Against a really good team that’s incredibly well coached and difficult to play against.”
With the win, MSU has won at least nine conference games for the third straight year, and the home team has now won the last eight games in the series.
“This game was really personal for me,” said MSU sophomore forward Reggie Perry, who finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds. “We got beat pretty bad last time. So we wanted to come out (and get the win).”
Entering Tuesday, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi had both teams on the bubble, with MSU in the first four out and Alabama in the next four out. MSU now inches closer to getting on the right side of the bubble, while Alabama will struggle to make the Big Dance short of winning the SEC tournament.
“It feels good to win, but we know we can’t have any letdowns,” MSU senior guard Tyson Carter said. “We had the same feeling last week, so we need to go into practice and go after it even harder.”
Tuesday didn’t pass by without a somber moment. Alabama’s John Petty Jr., the SEC’s 11th-best scorer, suffered what looked to be a gruesome elbow injury midway through the first half after contact with MSU center Abdul Ado battling for a loose ball. Petty Jr. was seen lying on the floor and screaming in pain as a hushed silence fell over the crowd.
The Alabama standout eventually was helped to the locker room and did not return to the game. Alabama coach Nate Oats said Petty Jr. will undergo an MRI on Wednesday, and his status going forward is uncertain.
“Our rotation got shortened up,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “We lost our best shooter.”
In Alabama’s previous victory against MSU, the Crimson Tide were efficient from the 3-point line. That efficiency continued into the first half of Tuesday but waned after the break, as Alabama shot 3 of 15 from beyond the arc in the second half compared to 8 of 17 in the first.
“They definitely started to attack the rim a lot more,” MSU sophomore guard Robert Woodard II said of Alabama’s offensive gameplan after Petty Jr. ‘s injury. “We didn’t really have to be help conscious on Petty anymore.”
At halftime, MSU led Alabama 41-39, and the contest remained tight throughout.
With his team up five points with 42 seconds remaining, Carter delivered the dagger with a driving layup, erupting into a roar after the hoop fell through the net. He finished with 19 points on the night.
“The fans were into it,” Carter said. “That’s the fun part of the game. We felt like we were in complete control, and I got to celebrate a little bit.”
In Petty Jr.’s absence, Alabama was bolstered by Kira Lewis Jr., as the guard contributed 29 points and seven rebounds in a losing effort. MSU shot 52.6 percent from the floor and converted 16 of 19 free throws.
Woodard was the only other player for MSU in double figures with 10 points and seven rebounds, while Ado was a statsheet stuffer with eight points, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
“I knew (Abdul) would show up and be ready to go,” Howland said.
MSU is back in action against Missouri at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Columbia, Missouri.
Hodge is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
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