Senior guard Trevor Releford knocked down six of his nine three-point attempts on his way to a game-high 28 points against Mississippi State.
The Alabama men’s basketball team upended the Bulldogs 80-61 Wednesday night in Coleman Coliseum and advanced to 8-8 on the season and 2-1 in Southeastern Conference play.
“Trevor was tremendous tonight, not just with the points, but I thought he really led our team,” Alabama coach Anthony Grant said.
Releford shot 10-of-13 from the floor and has been one of the most consistent scorers for the Crimson Tide.
However, he received a technical foul after celebrating his first layup of the second half. He went on and scored 14 of his 28 points after the penalty.
But Mississippi State coach Rick Ray was not convinced that Releford’s night was all because of his efforts on the court. Ray said the Bulldogs’ game plan to contain Releford backfired, resulting in the 28-point performance.
“We made Trevor Releford better than what he is by not doing what we’re supposed to do with our defensive assignments,” Ray said.
But Releford was not alone.
Four Alabama players scored double-digit points Wednesday night, including freshman forward Shannon Hale, sophomore guard Retin Obasohan and junior guard Rodney Cooper.
Hale posted another solid performance with 12 points and three rebounds.
“I’ve just been working harder,” Hale said. “I feel like I’m a lot more confident, getting better every day.”
Mississippi State forward Gavin Ware led the Bulldogs with 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting. He also led both teams with six rebounds, but that was not enough to keep Alabama off the glass. The Crimson Tide out-rebounded Mississippi State 33-28 and led the Bulldogs in assists 17-11.
Alabama also shot 53 percent (30-57) from the field and 40 percent (10-25) from three-point range.
“We were fortunate that the ball went in for us,” Grant said. “That’s the only thing you can ask as a coach. ‘Let’s get good looks.’ We’ve got to continue to shoot the ball and shoot the ball with confidence.”
Grant and the Alabama players said they were happy with the win but wanted to see more consistency on a weekly basis.
“It’s definitely fun when you’re out on a team, you’re executing and you’re doing all the things right, which coach preaches every day,” Releford said. “As a team we’ve just got to play every game, not just one game and then the next game and fall off.”
Alabama will be on the road over the weekend as the Crimson Tide travels to face the Missouri Tigers Saturday Jan. 18. The game will tip off at 1 p.m. and be televised by ESPN2.
