STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Mark Sears scored 20 points and No. 8 Alabama pulled away in the second half to beat No. 21 Mississippi State 78-67 on Wednesday night in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
Freshman Brandon Miller added 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Crimson Tide (11-2).
D.J. Jeffries had 11 points and 15 rebounds, and Keshawn Murphy also scored 11 for Mississippi State (11-2), which shot a horrific 18 of 36 (50%) from the free-throw line.
The Crimson Tide held the Bulldogs to 11 field goals inside 3-point range, and all-SEC big man Tolu Smith had a rough night, going 3 for 15 from the free-throw line and 1 for 7 from the field as he finished with five points.
Mississippi State missed 11 free throws in the first half alone, with Smith going 2 for 10, but the Bulldogs trailed just 34-30 at halftime.
Alabama steadily put the game out of reach in the second half, leading by as many as 17 points.
Noah Clowney had 12 points for the Crimson Tide and Nick Pringle finished with 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting.
UP NEXT
Alabama: Hosts Mississippi on Jan. 3.
Mississippi State: At No. 7 Tennessee on January 3.
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