By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
March 7, 2004
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. With visions of Alabama's 77-73 upset win on Feb. 21 dancing in his head, Mississippi State University' Timmy Bowers went up for his final shot with one click left on the clock in overtime.
With Alabama forward Winston Kennedy in front of him, Bowers switch the ball from his left to right hand, banked his shot off the glass, and watched it drop through for an 82-81 win.
Bowers' shot from the baseline sealed MSU's first outright Southeastern Conference championship since 1962-63.
The No. 5 Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 25-2 overall record and a 14-2 mark in SEC play. MSU's win also gave the team a perfect 12-0 record on the road this season.
MSU forward Lawrence Roberts picked up his 16th double-double of the year, grabbing 21 rebounds to go with 18 points.
The 6-foot-9 transfer's effort on the glass helped the Bulldogs score a 56-36 rebounding edge against the Tide.
MSU climbed out of a 16-point deficit in the game's final nine minutes to send the game to overtime.
Bulldogs forward Shane Power ignited the run with a pair of three-pointers, and Bowers hit a three to cut the Tide's lead to 66-58 with 6:27 left in the game.
MSU outscored Alabama 17-9 over the last 6 1/2 minutes of the game, and it was Bowers who sent the game into overtime with one tick left on the clock.
The senior point guard let go of a leaning jump shot just to the left of the free-throw line to tie the game at 75 at the end of regulation.
Bowers finished with a team-high 20 points and eight assists. Winsome Frazier tallied 15 points, and Power added 11 for the Bulldogs.
Alabama guard Shelton Earnest scored a game-high 25 points to lead four Tide players in double figures. Antoine Pettway tallied 21 points in the senior's last home game, and Kennedy Winston and Chuck Davis added 15 and 11, respectively.
Winston led Alabama into halftime with a 47-31 lead knocking down a field goal from the free-throw line just before the buzzer.
Alabama hit 16-of-33 shots in the game's opening 20 minutes, and MSU went 10-for-34 in the first half.
Alabama built a 17-10 lead in the game's first eight minutes, but MSU responded with a 7-3 run to pull within 20-17 of the lead with 11:02 to play in the half.
Earnest Shelton, who scored 16 points in the opening half, sparked another run for Alabama knocking down a three-pointer just 23 seconds after MSU came within three of the lead.
The Tide rolled to a 39-22 lead with 3:59 to play, outscoring the Bulldogs 19-5 during the run.