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National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Alabama 99, Mississippi State 67
When: 8:30 PM ET, Saturday, February 3, 2024
Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Officials: # Terry Oglesby, # Todd Austin, # Patrick Evans
Attendance: 13474

Mark Sears scored 21 points Saturday night and No. 24 Alabama remained atop the Southeastern Conference by squashing visiting Mississippi State 99-67 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Aaron Estrada added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Crimson Tide (16-6, 8-1 SEC), while reserves Jarin Stevenson and Mouhamed Dioubate each tallied 14 points.

Alabama got going after a slow start to hit 44.6 percent of its field goal attempts, connecting on 18 of its first 20 2-point shots.

More impressive was the Tide's defensive effort, which discombobulated the Bulldogs (14-8, 3-6). They limited them to 40 percent accuracy from the field and also forced 18 turnovers that they converted into 27 points.

Tolu Smith III scored a game-high 23 points for Mississippi State, while Shakeel Moore added 13 and Shawn Jones Jr. hit for 10 points. But the Bulldogs' second-leading scorer, freshman guard Josh Hubbard, was held to seven on 1-of-9 shooting.

Mississippi State, which remained winless in true road games, managed to hang around for the first 10 minutes by slowing the pace against the nation's highest-scoring team. But once Alabama got its offense that averages 89.4 point per game in gear, it ran away and hid.

Beginning with Sears' 3-pointer off an Estrada assist at the 8:53 mark, the Tide peeled off an 8-0 run that Stevenson capped with a 3-pointer with 6:59 left to make it 26-16.

But the spurt that decided the game occurred after Smith made two free throws to pull the Bulldogs within 29-22.

Dioubate started the run with a layup and then followed a Sears' 3-pointer with an old school three-point play. It grew from there into an 18-2 avalanche that Stevenson finished with a layup, turning a competitive game into a 47-24 blowout at the half.

It got no better for Mississippi State in the second half. Estrada made a layup at the 13:29 mark to push the advantage to 30 for the first time and Alabama kept rolling. The margin reached 34 twice in the final minute.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Mississippi State   Alabama
Tolu Smith 23 Scoring Mark Sears 21
Dashawn Davis 3 Assists Latrell Wrightsell Jr. 5
Shawn Jones Jr. 6 Rebounds Mouhamed Dioubate 9
Tolu Smith 7 Free Throws Made Mark Sears 6
Shawn Jones Jr. 2 Steals Latrell Wrightsell Jr. 3
N/A Blocks Mouhamed Dioubate 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Mississippi State 67 40.0 4-16 19-32 11 33 0 7 18
Alabama 99 44.6 15-48 10-10 19 47 5 13 11