Bulldogs stun No. 8 Alabama for SEC title

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Posted 4:19PM on Sunday, March 10, 2002

ATLANTA - Mississippi State won its second Southeastern Conference tournament title and earned an automatic NCAA bid with a 61-58 victory over regular-season champion Alabama on Sunday. Tournament MVP Mario Austin led the Bulldogs with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Timmy Bowers and Derrick Zimmerman hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the game, likely costing Alabama a shot at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Michael Gholar sank two free throws with five seconds remaining and Bowers made a key defensive play, knocking the ball away from Maurice Williams as the Alabama point guard crossed midcourt, trying to get in position for a tying 3-pointer. Williams also missed a 3 with about eight seconds to go after Mississippi State triple-teamed Rod Grizzard, who scored 17 points. Erwin Dudley led the Crimson Tide with 18 but went out with just over a minute remaining, dazed after going down hard on a drive to the basket. Mississippi State improved to 15-0 when holding an opponent to less than 65 points. Alabama (26-7) won the regular-season championship by two games and hoped to add its first tournament title since 1991. Instead, Mississippi State (26-7) gave a big boost to its NCAA credentials. The Bulldogs' only other tournament championship came in 1996, and they rode that momentum all the way to Final Four. That also was the last time the Bulldogs made the NCAA field. ``This is a very special occasion,'' said coach Rick Stansbury, holding his 2-year-old son, Isaac, on the court while the team celebrated. ``All the credit goes to these outstanding young men. They worked very hard and deserve this opportunity.'' Alabama trailed much of the game, finally taking its first lead, 45-44, when Dudley put back his own miss with 9 1/2 minutes to go. The Crimson Tide's final lead was 52-50, on Terrance Meade's two free throws with just under five minutes left. Bowers put the Bulldogs ahead to stay when he swished a 3-pointer with 3:51 remaining. Zimmerman followed with another to make it 57-52 with 2:40 remaining. Austin's backdoor pass to Zimmerman resulted in a layup with 1:54 to go, putting Mississippi State up 59-54. Meade hit a couple of free throws, Austin missed and Grizzard added two more foul shots to pull Alabama within 59-58. Zimmerman was fouled with 24 seconds left but made only one free throw, giving Alabama a chance for the win. The streaky Grizzard, who scored a career-high 33 points in the quarterfinals, was surrounded by three players as soon as he touched the ball. He passed across court to Williams, who hoisted a shot from at least 5 feet behind the 3-point line. It missed, Gholar rebounded and was fouled. Austin dominated on the inside in the early going, scoring eight points and grabbing six rebounds before the game was 10 minutes old. Mississippi State extended its lead to 30-20 when Austin made a couple of foul shots with 4:28 remaining. The Bulldogs were held scoreless the rest of the period, but Alabama didn't take full advantage of the drought. Grizzard missed on a couple of one-and-ones, but he got open at the top of the key and sank a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left, closing the gap to 30-25 at halftime. Grizzard has 11 points before the break, including Alabama's final eight.