After slow start, No. 18 Alabama crushes Mississippi State in second half

Career-best outbursts from Labaron Philon Jr. and Aiden Sherrell helped No. 18 Alabama recoup from two straight Southeastern Conference losses by trouncing Mississippi State 97-82 on Tuesday night in Starkville, Miss.

Philon, a sophomore guard, poured in 32 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range for his first career 30-point game. Sherrell, a sophomore forward, had a career-high 22 points to go with five rebounds for the Crimson Tide (12-5, 2-2 SEC). They both shot lights out from the free-throw line with Philon shooting 9-for-10 and Sherrell 10-for-11.

Aden Holloway chipped in 15 points while Amari Allen had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

After allowing 96 and 92 points in dropping its last two games, Alabama anchored down on defense to stump the Bulldogs (10-7, 2-2) by holding them to just 36.8% (28 of 76) from the field.

Josh Hubbard tallied 23 points and Jayden Epps had 13 for Mississippi State but the pair shot a combined 11 of 31 from the field.

The Crimson Tide followed up its lowest-scoring first half of the season (36 points) by coming out hot to start the second half with a 17-5 run to open up a 53-39 lead after just four minutes expired.

Philon and Sherrell continued to push the effort against the Bulldogs behind a 16-6 run. Sherrell made a pair of free throws while Philon attacked inside again and again and the Crimson Tide's lead ballooned to 81-59 with 8:17 to play.

The Crimson Tide shot 17 of 34 from the field and had just two turnovers to ice the 61-point second half.

Mississippi State set the tone early with staunch defense, which the Bulldogs turned into a 9-2 early run. Epps' jumper pushed the lead to 15-6 with just over six minutes into the contest.

Alabama was in a blender, missing 16 of its first 21 shots with 10 of the misses coming from 3-point range. But after being held scoreless over two minutes, the Crimson Tide showed their high-scoring prowess with five straight field goals.

Philon made a nifty layup and big man Sherrell stepped out for a 3 as Alabama used a 12-3 run to close it to 32-27 with 4:28 remaining in the first half.

Philon made a pair of free throws to cap his 12-point half and to give Alabama its first lead since it was 1-0. The Crimson Tide's 12-2 run to close the frame gave Alabama a 36-34 lead at the break.

The Bulldogs missed seven of eight field-goal attempts to close the half.