No. 8 Miss. State beats S. Alabama

MOBILE, ALABAMA - Rick Stansbury knew his Mississippi State team was poised for a letdown after beating Oklahoma over the weekend. <br> <br> He also knew Timmy Bowers and Derrick Zimmerman would help the Bulldogs regain control against South Alabama on Monday night. <br> <br> Bowers and Zimmerman each scored 21 points to lead the eighth-ranked Bulldogs to an 85-74 victory. <br> <br> ``Those two guys understand things,&#39;&#39; Stansbury said. ``They understood it, they kept their emotions where they need to be, and we found energy to win the game.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The Bulldogs (9-1) shot 45 percent in the first half and committed nine turnovers. The Jaguars&#39; Chris Young hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left in the half, and Mississippi State led just 36-35 at the half. <br> <br> South Alabama (6-5) took a 39-38 lead early in the second half on two baskets by Malerick Bedden. But the Bulldogs went on a 23-5 run that gave them a 61-44 lead, their largest of the game, with 11:24 left. Bowers scored seven and Mario Austin added six during the burst. <br> <br> South Alabama didn&#39;t get closer than 10 points the rest of the way. <br> <br> ``In the second half, we just tried to pick our intensity level up and go out and play hard,&#39;&#39; Bowers said. ``Defend and rebound, that&#39;s the key to every ballgame. If we do that every game, we&#39;ll keep on winning.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Austin finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. The Alabama native entered the game averaging 23.3 points. <br> <br> Bedden led the Jaguars with 17 points. Young had 15 points, 12 of them in the first half. <br> <br> It was the Jaguars&#39; first game against a ranked opponent since losing 64-51 to No. 22 Illinois in the 1998 NCAA tournament. South Alabama had not played a ranked team at home since Feb. 22, 1992, a 104-78 loss to Cincinnati. <br> <br> South Alabama coach John Pelphrey said his team didn&#39;t play well enough to beat ``a better basketball team.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> ``You can&#39;t turn the ball over 19 times, and when you&#39;re getting the shots at point-blank range, you&#39;ve got to make those shots,&#39;&#39; Pelphrey said. ``They&#39;re too good, too fast for us to not play well. Mississippi State is the reason we didn&#39;t play well.&#39;&#39;