Top-seeded Alabama blows out Mississippi State 85-48 in SEC

<p>NASHVILLE, Tenn. &mdash; Jaden Shackelford had 13 points, Jahvon Quinerly added 14 off the bench and top-seeded Alabama blew out No. 9 seed Mississippi State 85-48 on Friday in a Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinal. </p>
<p>The No. 6 Crimson Tide (22-6) will face the Florida-Tennessee winner in Saturday’s semifinals. MSU (15-14) awaits to see its postseason destination. </p>
<p>Playing as the tournament’s team to beat for the first time since 2002, the Crimson Tide followed a couple of small early runs before going on a 17-0 surge over five minutes for a 43-13 cushion just before halftime. Alabama also swarmed the Bulldogs defensively, scoring 24 of 30 points off 14 first-half turnovers and holding them to 30% shooting overall.</p>
<p>As expected, 3-point shooting propelled the Tide’s explosive attack, with Shackelford and John Petty Jr. leading the way. Shackelford made 3 of 6 from deep in finishing 5 of 12 shooting. Petty hit 3 of 7, including consecutive left-corner jumpers during the big run, for nine points.</p>
<p>Quinerly was 6 of 8 shooting with two 3s. SEC player of the year Herbert Jones had eight points, seven rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks in 17 minutes. </p>
<p>Alabama won its fourth consecutive game and third this season over the Bulldogs.</p>
<p>Iverson Molinar scored 18 points, Tolu Smith had 11 and Abdul Ado grabbed 11 rebounds for MSU, which outrebounded the Tide 43-35 but finished just 1 of 19 from long range and committed 18 turnovers for 30 points. </p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Mississippi State: A day after owning the paint against Kentucky, the Bulldogs rarely got a chance to establish their presence. They couldn’t match Alabama’s perimeter game on either end, digging a hole too deep to climb from.</p>
<p>Alabama: So much for any notion about the Crimson Tide being rusty from a double bye. Active defense led to easy offensive opportunities and created a lot of second chances as well. Alabama drained 3s in bunches put this game away early. Guard Josh Primo (eight points) left with 12:35 remaining with a knee injury and did not return.</p>
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