Moody boost Ole Miss past Alabama

Published 10:15 am Wednesday, March 4, 2015

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) – Stefan Moody scored 25 points, 22 in the second half, and Ladarius White added 19 to help Mississippi beat Alabama 82-74 on Tuesday night.

Moody hit 13 of 14 free throws and White made 4 of 5 shots from distance.

Aaron Jones added 10 points as Mississippi (20-10, 11-6 Southeastern Conference) recorded its seventh 20-win in nine years.

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Mississippi trailed 43-38 early in the second half before going on a 17-3 run for a 55-46 advantage. Six Ole Miss players scored during the stretch, including back-to-back 3-pointers by White.

Alabama pulled within 75-70 with under a minute left, but Mississippi made 7 of 8 free throws to seal it.

Levi Randolph led Alabama (17-13, 7-10) with 32 points after going perfect from the line on a school-record 17 attempts.

Rodney Cooper added 14 for the Crimson Tide and Jimmie Taylor had 13 points with 11 rebounds.

The Rebels spoiled Senior Night for Randolph and Cooper in their final games at Coleman Coliseum.

Mississippi took its first lead of the game 34-32 on a 3-point shot by White with 17:57 remaining. The teams played pretty evenly for a while with Moody making two free throws to tie the game at 43 with 13:06 left. The Rebels then broke the game open with a 12-3 run, triggered by back-to-back 3-pointers by White to bolt out to a 55-46 lead.

“I thought Alabama’s zone in the first half had us really perimeter oriented and had us very stagnant. We were settling for way too many jump shots,” Mississippi coach Andy Kennedy said. “In the second half we played with much better rhythm. We made some adjustments. In the second half we were able to create some driving lanes with our spacing. I thought we made some key plays down the stretch.”

“It was a combination of our turn-overs and them doing what they do,” Alabama coach Anthony Grant said. “Moody’s a tough cover. White is more than a capable scorer. Those two guys and us committing nine turnovers in the second half gave them opportunities to get out and get easy scores.”

Randolph said when Mississippi went on its run that Alabama didn’t answer. “We always talk about basketball as a game of runs,” he said. “We have to be able to withstand their runs. You just have to keep fighting. It’s a 40-minute game. They made their run and we weren’t able to respond to their run.”

Playing in their last regular season home game, Cooper and Randolph got Alabama off to a fast start. Cooper scored the first five points of the game on a 3-point shot and two free throws and Randolph canned a three-pointer at the 16:44 mark to give the Crimson Tide an 8-0 lead. Mississippi went on a 22-14 run to tie the game 22-22 on a basket by Sebastian Saiz with 5:24 left. Alabama then outscored the Rebels eight to two before White buried a 3-point shot with :02 to go to make it 30-27 at the half.