Levi Randolph scored a career-high 18 points and Alabama welcomed JaMychal Green back from suspension with a dominant second half in Saturday's 67-50 win over reeling Mississippi State.
The Crimson Tide (19-9, 8-6 Southeastern Conference) has won six of eight games and weathered a storm of off-the-court troubles. Green, one of four players to serve a suspension the past couple of weeks, returned after four games to score nine points.
The Bulldogs (19-10, 6-8) have lost five straight and are left trying to salvage their NCAA tournament hopes.
This one was tied at halftime before Alabama dominated the second half 42-25. The Tide shot 64 percent (16 of 25) after the half and made 5 of 7 3-pointers (71.4 percent).
Trevor Releford came off the bench for only the second time this season and had 10 points.
Randolph also had seven rebounds, four assists and three steals with no turnovers. The freshman's previous scoring high was 13 points against Vanderbilt.
Dee Bost and Renardo Sidney had 14 points apiece for Mississippi State.
Arnett Moultrie had seven points and eight rebounds, well below his season averages. He attempted only three field goals as Alabama mostly denied him the ball around the basket.
The Bulldogs managed a season-low in points and shot 38.2 percent (18 of 47). Alabama took the same number of shots but made 25 (53.2 percent).
The Tide started a 21-7 run at the end of the first half to take a 43-32 lead when Green hit 1 of 2 free throws with 12:57 left.
Sidney then hit a basket and foul shot and Jalen Steele drilled a 3-pointer to slice the margin to five points. Then things got away from the Bulldogs again.
Alabama answered with two straight Releford drives to start a 14-1 run and retake control of the game.
A previously scoreless Charles Hankerson hit for seven straight points to end the spurt, helping Alabama roll to an 18-point margin.
Those were his only points of the game in 10 minutes of action. The Tide got 32 points from its bench compared to just two from Mississippi State reserves.
Alabama guard Trevor Lacey started, but with five minutes left in the first half he appeared to reinjure a right ankle he sprained two nights earlier at Arkansas. He hobbled off the court and didn't play again.
Green, the Tide's leading scorer and rebounder, entered the game to loud applause with 13:58 left in the first half. He didn't appear too rusty, managing a quick assist at the end of a fast-break layup
He made 3 of 4 baskets.
Releford had hit three free throws with four-tenths of a second left in the first half to tie the game at 25 and that momentum carried over into the second half.
