Alabama 55, Mississippi State 51: Shannon Hale scored 14 points, and Levi Randolph had 13 points and seven rebounds as the visiting Crimson Tide edged the Bulldogs.

Rodney Cooper chipped in nine points, and Michael Kessens collected seven points and six rebounds off the bench for Alabama (15-9, 5-6 SEC), which recorded its fifth straight win over the Bulldogs. The shorthanded Crimson Tide played without point guard Ricky Tarrant and his backup, Retin Obasohan, who both sat out due to injuries.

Gavin Ware and Craig Sword led Mississippi State (11-13, 4-7) with 13 points apiece. Ware grabbed eight rebounds but was 3-of-13 shooting for the Bulldogs, who lost their second straight despite holding the Crimson Tide to 32.7 percent shooting.

Alabama held the Bulldogs to one point for nearly nine minutes late in the opening period and took a 25-21 lead into the break. Cooper drained one of his two 3-pointers and scored five points during an 11-3 run to put the Crimson Tide ahead 49-41 with just over three minutes remaining.

Randolph converted two free throws to extend the lead to 52-44 with one minute left, but Mississippi State scored four straight points on two quick steals to cut the deficit to four points with 48 seconds to play. Alabama made three of its final six foul shots in the final 40 seconds to win for the third time in its last nine games.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Mississippi State G Fred Thomas started in place of Travis Daniels, who was limited due to a sore hip. Both players finished with seven points and four rebounds. … Alabama PG Justin Coleman made his second straight start and scored two points on 0-of-7 shooting. Coleman is 1-of-17 from the field over his last two games. … Both teams struggled from 3-point range as Alabama was 5-of-27 and Mississippi State was 2-of-12.