Tide still winless in SEC

TUSCALOOSA - A smattering of boos vocalized the frustration of Alabama's stumbling start to the SEC basketball season.

Mississippi State's Barry Stewart had just put the finishing touches on Alabama's 66-56 loss to the Bulldogs on Saturday, turning another Crimson Tide turnover down the stretch into a fast-break layup.

Fans, who cheered as Alabama (11-8) whittled a one-time 13-point Mississippi State second-half lead to four with less than four minutes to play, voiced their displeasure during a mass exodus of Coleman Coliseum. But they're not the only ones disappointed with Alabama's worst SEC start since Coach Mark Gottfried's inaugural season in Tuscaloosa in 1998-1999.

After the Crimson Tide's loss to the Bulldogs (13-5, 4-0 SEC), Alabama big man Richard Hendrix joined the ranks of those bewildered and frustrated by his team's 0-4 start to league play.

"I've always considered myself a winner," Hendrix said. "A lot of us haven't been in a situation like this. There's a lot of adversity you have to overcome. We just have to find something inside ourselves to turn this thing around."

The Tide seemed poised to turn it around midway through the second half. Jamont Gordon scored two of his game-high 24 points with a backdoor layup, giving Mississippi State a 47-34 lead - it's largest of the game - with 12:17 remaining.

Hendrix, whose 21 points paced the Tide, then took over inside to lead an Alabama comeback. With 5:21 to play, Mikhail Torrence fed Hendrix for an and-one layup, which cut Alabama's deficit to 52-48.

Senario Hillman again made it a four-point game, converting another and-one situation with 3:59 remaining.

Then things unraveled again for Alabama. Trailing 59-55 with the ball, freshman point guard Rico Pickett penetrated into the lane but tossed a kick-out pass into the hands of an awaiting Gordon, who streaked down court for a fast-break dunk. The Bulldogs scored the next six points to seal the win.

"I just made a great defensive play on the ball," Gordon said. "I caught him over-penetrating, and I saw where he was going with the ball, so I got the steal."

Gottfried attributed the back-breaking play to growing pains.

"Sometimes with a freshman point guard, you have to give him some opportunities to play through some mistakes," he said. "He's got to learn at key times, and you can't learn by sitting on the bench."

Turnovers represent one item on Gottfried's list of the Tide's troubles. Guarding the perimeter, knocking down open shots and blocking out on defense are a few others, he said. All of those familiar shortcomings continued to haunt Alabama on Saturday.

Against the SEC's worst 3-point-shooting defense coming into the game, the Bulldogs shot 46.2 percent from 3-point range, including 7-for-14 in the first half.