No. 24 Alabama beats Mississippi State 99-67, maintains top spot in the SEC standings

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Mark Sears scored 21 points and No. 24 Alabama maintained its spot atop the Southeastern Conference standings with a 99-67 win over Mississippi State on Saturday night.

Aaron Estrada scored 15 points and Mouhamed Dioubate and Jarin Stevenson each scored 14 for Alabama (16-6, 8-1). Stevenson, a freshman, showed plenty of improvement, shooting 4 for 6 from long distance after not scoring more than seven points in each of his first eight conference games.

Dioubate added eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks, while Estrada had eight rebounds and three assists.

Tolu Smith III had 23 points and five rebounds for Mississippi State (14-8, 3-6). Shakeel Moore scored 10 points and Shawn Jones Jr. 10.

The Bulldogs struggled from 3-point range, going 4 for 16 and committed 18 turnovers. Mississippi State had an especially poor first half, shooting 32% and going 0 for 7 from 3-point range. Those struggles allowed Alabama to build a 23-point lead by halftime.

BIG PICTURE

Sears strengthened his case for SEC Player of the Year in a heated race with Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht, among others. Sears added four rebounds, three assists and two steals to his 21 points, made all six of his free throws and had a couple of flashy passes.

Sears has scored at least 20 points in all but one of Alabama’s nine SEC games and had multiple steals in six of those nine games.

UP NEXT

Alabama: Travel to Auburn on Wednesday. Alabama beat the Tigers at home on 79-75 on Jan. 24.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs host Georgia, mired in a three-game losing streak, on Wednesday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball