No. 14 Alabama retains a share of 1st place in the SEC with a 103-88 win over Mississippi
AP
Feb 29, 2024
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) Mark Sears scored 26 points and No. 14 Alabama Crimson Tide held on to its share of first place in the Southeastern Conference with a 103-88 win over Mississippi on Wednesday night.
Sears, a 6-foot-1 guard and the SEC’s leading scorer at 20.4 points a game, was 8 for 14 from the floor and 3 for 8 from 3-point range as Crimson Tide (20-8) kept pace with conference co-leader No. 4 Tennessee, which beat No. 11 Auburn 92-84 earlier Wednesday.
Tennessee and Alabama are 12-3 in conference play.
Aaron Estrada had 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, Davin Cosby Jr. added 15 points, Rylan Griffen had 14 and Nick Pringle and Grant Nelson each had 10 for The Crimson Tide.
“He’s getting comfortable in the offense, figuring out where to get his shots, when he can attack," Alabama coach Nate Oats said of Estrada. “I keep telling him he needs to stop passing up open 3s. He deserves to have a good game because he’s been playing so hard. It’s awesome when you think of all the pros we’ve had come through here.”
Allen Flanigan led Ole Miss Rebels with 28 points, an SEC season-high for the Auburn transfer.
Flanigan was ejected from Saturday’s 72-59 loss to No. 18 South Carolina after a flagrant foul. He did not start Wednesday, but was in the game within the first three minutes.
“The first half was one of our better halves all season, one of our better 20-minute segments. I thought we needed to score 90 points and make nine or 10 3s to win this game,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said.
Ole Miss (19-9, 6-9 SEC) slowed the Crimson Tide’s conference-leading offense (91.1 points per game) in the first half, but eventually Alabama pulled away.
The Crimson Tide, who have scored at least 80 points in nine straight games, were on a 60-point pace before a couple of 3-pointers fueled a 16-5 run to close the first half. Sears had eight points in the run.
Ole Miss led 42-39 at the break.
Two free throws by Jarin Stevenson at the 18:58 mark of the second half gave Alabama its first lead of the game. The Crimson Tide stretched their lead to nine points on a 3-pointer by Estrada with 14:19 left.
The Rebels tied the game at 65 with 9:39 left when Jaylen Murray capped an 8-0 run with two free throws, but Alabama surged ahead.
BIG PICTURE
Ole Miss has lost six of its last seven. The Rebels had a chance to boost their NCAA Tournament resume, but fell Wednesday and lost to No. 18 South Carolina last Saturday, dropping two home games.
Alabama could help its NCAA Tournament seeding with an SEC regular-season championship.
UP NEXT
Alabama: Host No. 4 Tennessee on Saturday.
Mississippi: At Missouri on Saturday.
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1st Half
ALA
Crimson Tide
39
MISS
Rebels
42
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
(Rebels gains possession)
19:52
+2
Moussa Cisse makes two point dunk (Jaemyn Brakefield assists)
0-2
19:39
+2
Jarin Stevenson makes two point layup (Rylan Griffen assists)
2-2
19:20
Grant Nelson blocks Jaemyn Brakefield's two point layup
19:18
Jaemyn Brakefield offensive rebound
19:11
Brandon Murray misses two point layup
19:09
Brandon Murray offensive rebound
19:04
+2
Brandon Murray makes two point layup
2-4
18:56
Aaron Estrada misses two point jump shot
18:54
Moussa Cisse defensive rebound
18:49
+3
Matthew Murrell makes three point jump shot (Jaylen Murray assists)
2-7
18:32
+2
Grant Nelson makes two point layup
4-7
18:17
+2
Jaylen Murray makes two point jump shot
4-9
18:03
+2
Grant Nelson makes two point jump shot
6-9
17:31
Jaylen Murray misses three point jump shot
17:27
Crimson Tide defensive rebound
17:16
Sam Walters misses three point jump shot
17:14
Moussa Cisse defensive rebound
17:06
+2
Moussa Cisse makes two point layup (Matthew Murrell assists)
6-11
16:51
Nick Pringle misses two point layup
16:49
Moussa Cisse defensive rebound
16:40
Jaylen Murray turnover (Aaron Estrada steals)
16:34
+2
Aaron Estrada makes two point layup
8-11
16:10
Jaemyn Brakefield misses three point jump shot
16:08
Sam Walters defensive rebound
16:03
Jarin Stevenson misses three point jump shot
16:01
Matthew Murrell defensive rebound
15:39
+2
Allen Flanigan makes two point layup (Jaylen Murray assists)
8-13
15:24
Sam Walters misses three point jump shot
15:22
Rebels defensive rebound
15:14
TV timeout
14:39
TJ Caldwell turnover (Mark Sears steals)
14:35
+2
Mark Sears makes two point layup
10-13
14:13
+2
Brandon Murray makes two point jump shot
10-15
13:58
+3
Mark Sears makes three point jump shot (Aaron Estrada assists)
13-15
13:34
Grant Nelson shooting foul (TJ Caldwell draws the foul)
13:34
TJ Caldwell misses regular free throw 1 of 2
13:34
+1
TJ Caldwell makes regular free throw 2 of 2
13-16
13:20
Grant Nelson turnover
13:03
Matthew Murrell misses three point jump shot
13:01
TJ Caldwell offensive rebound
12:53
+3
Allen Flanigan makes three point jump shot (Brandon Murray assists)
13-19
12:38
Rylan Griffen misses three point jump shot
12:36
Allen Flanigan defensive rebound
12:31
Allen Flanigan offensive foul
12:31
Allen Flanigan turnover (offensive foul)
12:31
Rylan Griffen technical foul
12:31
Rylan Griffen turnover
12:31
+1
Allen Flanigan makes technical free throw 1 of 2
13-20
12:31
Allen Flanigan misses technical free throw 2 of 2
12:28
Rebels offensive rebound
12:16
+2
Matthew Murrell makes two point jump shot (Brandon Murray assists)
13-22
11:57
Jamarion Sharp blocks Grant Nelson's two point layup
11:55
TJ Caldwell defensive rebound
11:44
+3
TJ Caldwell makes three point jump shot (Allen Flanigan assists)
13-25
11:25
Davin Cosby Jr. misses three point jump shot
11:23
Aaron Estrada offensive rebound
11:22
+2
Mouhamed Dioubate makes two point layup (Aaron Estrada assists)
15-25
11:22
Jamarion Sharp shooting foul (Mouhamed Dioubate draws the foul)
11:22
TV timeout
11:22
Mouhamed Dioubate misses regular free throw 1 of 1
11:22
Moussa Cisse defensive rebound
11:02
Moussa Cisse misses two point jump shot
11:00
Aaron Estrada defensive rebound
10:53
Sam Walters misses three point jump shot
10:51
Jaylen Murray defensive rebound
10:27
Matthew Murrell misses three point jump shot
10:25
Mark Sears defensive rebound
10:14
Sam Walters misses three point jump shot
10:12
Crimson Tide offensive rebound
10:09
Brandon Murray personal foul
10:03
Aaron Estrada misses three point jump shot
10:01
Jaylen Murray defensive rebound
9:51
Brandon Murray misses two point jump shot
9:51
Rebels offensive rebound
9:51
Grant Nelson personal foul
9:26
Matthew Murrell misses three point jump shot
9:24
Jarin Stevenson defensive rebound
9:19
Aaron Estrada misses two point jump shot
9:17
Brandon Murray defensive rebound
9:12
+3
Matthew Murrell makes three point jump shot (Jaylen Murray assists)
15-28
8:56
+2
Mark Sears makes two point jump shot
17-28
8:23
+2
Brandon Murray makes two point jump shot
17-30
8:12
+2
Nick Pringle makes two point layup (Aaron Estrada assists)
19-30
7:54
Jarin Stevenson personal foul (Jaylen Murray draws the foul)
7:54
TV timeout
7:39
+2
Allen Flanigan makes two point jump shot
19-32
7:24
+3
Davin Cosby Jr. makes three point jump shot (Mark Sears assists)
22-32
7:10
Jaylen Murray misses three point jump shot
7:08
Jaemyn Brakefield offensive rebound
7:06
Davin Cosby Jr. personal foul
7:05
Brandon Murray misses two point jump shot
7:03
Nick Pringle defensive rebound
6:53
Davin Cosby Jr. misses three point jump shot
6:51
Rylan Griffen offensive rebound
6:44
Davin Cosby Jr. misses three point jump shot
6:42
Allen Flanigan defensive rebound
6:33
Jamarion Sharp offensive foul
6:33
Jamarion Sharp turnover (offensive foul)
6:19
Moussa Cisse personal foul (Nick Pringle draws the foul)
6:19
+1
Nick Pringle makes regular free throw 1 of 2
23-32
6:19
Nick Pringle misses regular free throw 2 of 2
6:19
Allen Flanigan defensive rebound
6:08
Nick Pringle blocks Allen Flanigan's two point layup
6:06
Aaron Estrada defensive rebound
6:03
Rylan Griffen turnover (out of bounds)
5:41
+2
Jaemyn Brakefield makes two point layup (Jaylen Murray assists)
23-34
5:41
Nick Pringle shooting foul (Jaemyn Brakefield draws the foul)
5:41
+1
Jaemyn Brakefield makes regular free throw 1 of 1
23-35
5:14
Mark Sears misses three point jump shot
5:12
Matthew Murrell defensive rebound
5:07
+2
Allen Flanigan makes two point dunk (Matthew Murrell assists)
23-37
5:06
Crimson Tide 30 second timeout
4:51
Mouhamed Dioubate misses two point layup
4:49
Crimson Tide offensive rebound
4:37
+3
Mark Sears makes three point jump shot (Aaron Estrada assists)
26-37
4:16
Allen Flanigan turnover (Mark Sears steals)
4:08
Rylan Griffen misses three point jump shot
4:06
Jaemyn Brakefield defensive rebound
4:06
Jaemyn Brakefield turnover
3:47
TV timeout
3:42
Matthew Murrell personal foul
3:33
+3
Grant Nelson makes three point jump shot (Rylan Griffen assists)
29-37
3:15
Matthew Murrell misses three point jump shot
3:13
Grant Nelson defensive rebound
2:56
Rylan Griffen misses two point layup
2:54
Rylan Griffen offensive rebound
2:50
Rylan Griffen misses two point layup
2:48
Moussa Cisse defensive rebound
2:30
Jaylen Murray misses three point jump shot
2:28
Rylan Griffen defensive rebound
2:21
+3
Aaron Estrada makes three point jump shot
32-37
2:17
Rebels 30 second timeout
2:00
Brandon Murray misses three point jump shot
1:58
Aaron Estrada defensive rebound
1:46
Jaemyn Brakefield blocks Jarin Stevenson's two point layup
1:44
Matthew Murrell defensive rebound
1:37
Matthew Murrell turnover (Aaron Estrada steals)
1:37
Sam Walters misses three point jump shot
1:35
Nick Pringle offensive rebound
1:32
Moussa Cisse shooting foul (Nick Pringle draws the foul)
1:32
+1
Nick Pringle makes regular free throw 1 of 2
33-37
1:32
+1
Nick Pringle makes regular free throw 2 of 2
34-37
1:14
Jarin Stevenson shooting foul (Jaemyn Brakefield draws the foul)
1:14
Jaemyn Brakefield misses regular free throw 1 of 2
1:14
+1
Jaemyn Brakefield makes regular free throw 2 of 2
34-38
0:52
Brandon Murray shooting foul (Mark Sears draws the foul)
0:52
+1
Mark Sears makes regular free throw 1 of 2
35-38
0:52
+1
Mark Sears makes regular free throw 2 of 2
36-38
0:39
+2
Jaemyn Brakefield makes two point layup (Jaylen Murray assists)
36-40
0:25
Aaron Estrada misses three point jump shot
0:23
Allen Flanigan defensive rebound
0:22
Mouhamed Dioubate personal foul
0:22
+1
Allen Flanigan makes regular free throw 1 of 2
36-41
0:22
+1
Allen Flanigan makes regular free throw 2 of 2
36-42
0:03
+3
Mark Sears makes three point jump shot (Grant Nelson assists)
39-42
0:00
End of period
2nd Half
ALA
Crimson Tide
64
MISS
Rebels
46
Time
Team
Play
Score
19:50
Rylan Griffen misses three point jump shot
19:48
Jarin Stevenson offensive rebound
19:39
Jaylen Murray personal foul
19:24
+2
Jarin Stevenson makes two point layup (Rylan Griffen assists)
