Balanced, explosive Alabama defeats Mississippi 103-78

OXFORD, Miss. -- After a late 12-0 run by Texas A&M cost Alabama a crucial home win earlier this week, the Crimson Tide surely wasn't going to let its foot off the gas on the road.

John Petty Jr. scored 21 points, Jaden Shackelford had 18, and Kira Lewis Jr. added 17 to lead Alabama to a 103-78 victory over Mississippi on Saturday night.

Alabama (15-12, 7-7 SEC) continues to boast one of the best-producing offenses in the country, going 37 of 66 from the field, hitting 13 3-pointers and besting the Rebels 25-15 in assists. Alex Reese chipped in 12 points, and the Tide bench scored 31. Alabama has now hit 64 3-pointers in the past four games.

"The ball was really moving," Alabama coach Nate Oats said. "I thought we did a good job of attacking on one of the better defensive teams in the league."

The Tide had lost its previous six games in Oxford.

Ole Miss (13-14, 4-10 SEC) jumped out to an early 9-2 lead, but Alabama dominated the rest of the first period and led 45-31 by halftime. Thirteen of the Rebels' 21 turnovers were in the first half.

The two teams traded technical fouls on successive possessions early in the second half and Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis was ejected.

"It kind of surprised me," Davis said. "The game never got into a rhythm. It was just one of those kinds of games. You hate it for the fans. The fans and the players."

At one point the Rebels hit six consecutive field goals and still never pulled closer than 11 points.

"They started to make a run there in second half, so we called a time out and knew we had to get some stops," Oats said. "You know, you get up 15-20 and then lose the game, that's happened too many times to us this year. After that timeout, I thought we really buckled down, and I was proud of the way they closed things out that last eight minutes or so."

Breein Tyree led the Rebels with 28 points but fouled out with just under nine minutes left in the game. Devontae Shuler had 21 points and Blake Hinson added 11 points.

Ole Miss was 6 of 19 from beyond the arc and 26 of 48 from the floor.

"We've been competitive, especially at home, but we were just discombobulated tonight," Davis said. "We lost all kind of concept of pretending to guard."

BIG PICTURE

Alabama: The Tide move the ball well and can draw offense from so many places; they may be a difficult matchup for teams down the stretch.

Mississippi: Despite another heroic effort from Tyree, the Rebels drop their third straight and would need to win the SEC Tournament to go dancing.

IN THE HOLE

During a timeout in the second half, an 86 year-old fan named Mary Ann sank a 94-foot putt from the opposite end of the court to win a car from Cannon Motors.

"That's the best thing I saw in the second half," Davis said.

UP NEXT

Alabama will travel to Starkville to face Mississippi State on Tuesday night, while Ole Miss heads to Auburn.

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