Alabama could not extend its streak of winning by at least 10 points but the second-ranked Crimson Tide was still happy to walk away with a victory Wednesday night after trailing by double digits in the second half of its game against Mississippi State at Coleman Coliseum.
Noah Clowney scored off an assist from Jahvon Quinerly on two consecutive possessions to put Alabama into the lead for good with six minutes to go in the game then the defense took over the rest of the way. Noah Gurley put the final touches on the victory, blocking a 3-point attempt by Shakeel Moore in the final seconds to help Alabama finished off a 66-63 win over Mississippi State.
Alabama (18-2, 8-0 SEC) remains at the top of the SEC standings and is now just one of eight teams in the country still unbeaten in conference play. It was the Tide's second win over Mississippi State this season, following up an 11-point win in Starkville to open SEC play.
The Bulldogs held the hosts to just 36.8 percent shooting from the field and 17.9 percent from beyond the arc, both marking the second lowest totals for Alabama this season. The Crimson Tide shot just 33.3 percent and the visitors even had the rebounding advantage in the first half as the lead grew to as big as 11 points in the first half.
Mississippi State (12-8, 1-7) had the lead back in double figures after a dunk from Cameron Matthews with 16:44 to go in the game but that's when a switched flipped for Alabama.
The Crimson Tide went on a 15-3 run capped off by five straight points from Rylan Griffen including a 3-pointer with just under 10 minutes to go to give Alabama its first lead of the night. The visitors responded again with five straight points to push back into the lead but Alabama had another answer.
Brandon Miller put the Tide back into the lead with his only 3-pointer of the game and Mississippi State never got back in front. Miller finished with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting to go with six rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Quinerly led the team with 14 points and four assists in 27 minutes off the bench. He scored or assisted on nine of the team's final 13 points across the game's final seven minutes.
Alabama will take a break from conference play this weekend when the Crimson Tide participates in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge. Alabama will travel to Norman to take on Oklahoma in a game scheduled to tip off at 1 p.m. Saturday.