Alabama Crimson Tide vs Mississippi State Bulldogs Match Player Stats On Jan 15, 2022

Iverson Molinar scored 24 points to lead host Mississippi State to its second straight win, a 78-76 upset of No. 24 Alabama on Saturday in a Southeastern Conference game in Starkville, Miss.

Mississippi State took the lead for good at 64-63 with 7:17 to play.

Molinar added six rebounds, four assists and two steals. The Bulldogs (12-4, 3-1) also got a boost from Garrison Brooks, who notched 16 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Shakeel Moore chipped in 15 points and five rebounds.

The result marked the third straight loss for Alabama (11-6, 2-3) and could boot the Crimson Tide from the next AP Top 25 Poll. Against the Bulldogs, the Tide were led by Jaden Shackelford, who had 17 points and five rebounds. Darius Miles and Keon Ellis each added 14 points.

The Crimson Tide trailed by three points late in the first half but headed into intermission on an 8-1 run to lead by four points at the break.

In the second half, Alabama went a stretch of nearly five minutes without a field goal, allowing Mississippi State to take the lead.

Before the Bulldogs took a 75-67 lead with about 90 seconds to play, neither side had led by more than five points in the back-and-forth contest.

Mississippi State won despite shooting just 2 of 16 from 3-point range. The Bulldogs made up for that poor mark by outrebounding Alabama 43-32 and forcing the Tide into 15 turnovers. The Bulldogs cashed in on 21 second-chance points and 22 points off Alabama turnovers.

For Alabama, it was the first game of the season for senior forward James Rojas, who had been recovering from an ACL tear he suffered during a summer practice. Rojas made his presence known early in the second half, draining a 3-pointer. He played a total of 17 minutes off the bench, tallying six points, two rebounds and two steals.

Ellis cut Mississippi State's lead to two points on a shot from behind the arc with 42 seconds to play, but Alabama couldn't pull off the win. Ellis missed what would've been a game-winning 3-pointer with one second left.

Mississippi State will aim for its third straight win Wednesday when it travels to Florida. Alabama will try to snap its losing streak on the same day, hosting No. 12 LSU.

--Field Level Media