Alabama opened SEC play Wednesday night in Starkville’s sold-out Humphrey Coliseum.

The No. 8-ranked Tide met the No. 21-ranked Bulldogs at 8 p.m. CT, the sixth top-25 opponent for Alabama (10-2) through its first 13 games.

Here were the highlights:

SECOND HALF

Alabama 78, Mississippi State 67 (final): Alabama improves to 11-2 with its fourth win over a top-25 team this season. Brandon Miller and Mark Sears both hit three-pointers in the final two-plus minutes to help keep Mississippi State at bay.

Alabama 70, Mississippi State 55 (3:51): Mississippi State has missed six of its past seven shots, dimming hopes of a comeback even as Alabama has missed its past three shots from deep.

Alabama 60, Mississippi State 50 (7:37): Brandon Miller hit a 3-pointer to end a 6-0 run and quiet a reinvigorated Hump. But Alabama’s turnover problem is cropping up again, with six in the past five-plus minutes and 17 for the game. Helping the Tide is MSU shooting 1-of-5 on three pointers in the second half, cooling off after an unexpectedly hot first half.

Alabama 50, Mississippi State 38 (11:55): Tolu Smith is 3-of-15 on free throws for MSU. According to College Basketball Reference, the last player to have that few makes on that many attempts was Washington’s Aziz N’Diaye in 2010. MSU is 8-of-25 as a team from the line, which has been the major difference in an otherwise closely-contested game. Alabama has back-to-back turnovers and has missed its past three triples, including two by Dom Welch in his debut.

Alabama 50, Mississippi State 37 (13:39): Jaden Bradley threw an alley-oop to Nick Pringle, whose dunk gave Alabama a 13-point lead. That lead could be tough to make up for MSU, which is shooting 7-of-22 on free throws and 31 percent from the field.

Alabama 44, Mississippi State 35 (16:06): The Tide has its largest lead of the night, aided by continued struggles by Tolu Smith at the free throw line. He is 2-of-12. Alabama has started the second half 2-of-3 on three pointers, with Mark Sears up to a team-best 12 points. Charles Bediako picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench.

FIRST HALF

Alabama 34, Mississippi 30 (halftime): A bizarre first half in Starkville ended about as one would expect: Jaden Bradley threw away the ball for a turnover with 1.6 seconds on the clock, then MSU made its seventh three pointer of the first half at the buzzer. The Bulldogs, a poor three-point shooting team, are shooting 47 percent on three pointers compared to 32 percent on all of their field goals and 31 percent on free throws. Both teams have nine turnovers.

Alabama 25, Mississippi State 20 (3:34): There was no direction to go but up, but the pace of scoring has increased. Brandon Miller and Jahvon Quinerly both made three-pointers, along with back-to-back dunks by Nick Pringle. But MSU, which entered the game ranked 311th in 3-point percentage, is 4-of-12 and has made a pair in the past two minutes to keep it close. Quinerly and Miller both have three fouls and have gone to the bench. MSU is shooting 26 percent from the field and a brutal 5-of-16 on free throws, including 2-of-10 from star Tolu Smith.

Alabama 13, Mississippi 10 (7:54): Not a whole lot of action in one of the lowest-scoring Alabama games in recent memory. Mark Sears hit a three-pointer for the Tide’s fourth make of the game. The Tide is shooting 24% to MSU’s 18%, with Alabama only 2-of-10 on three-pointers. Alabama is still being out-rebounded, 18-12, but is winning the turnover battle, with MSU having 7 to the Tide’s 5.

Mississippi State 10, Alabama 8 (11:50): Alabama went from the 18:39 mark of the first half until 12:43 without making a field goal until Brandon Miller connected on a 3-pointer. But MSU responded with its first three pointer, the only brief burst of offense in this game. There have been more combined turnovers (7) than made shots (6). Alabama is 3-of-10 and the Bulldogs are 3-of-13, with the teams combining for a 3-of-11 start from beyond the arc. Something else to watch: Alabama has seven early fouls, with Brandon Miller being flagged for two of them.

Alabama 5, Mississippi State 4 (15:49): The Tide scored on its first two possessions to start hot, but then turned it over and missed its next three shots. MSU has started 1-of-8 from the field but is out-rebounding Alabama, 6-4.

PREGAME

— The usual starting lineup for Alabama, minus the injured Nimari Burnett. It’ll be Mark Sears, Jaden Bradley, Brandon Miller, Noah Clowney and Charles Bediako.

— “I think we’re a more talented group [than Mississippi State], but we need to play hard,” Oats said during his pregame radio interview, adding he feels his team needs to return to its identity that helped win at Houston.

— Fifth-year guard Dom Welch, a St. Bonaventure transfer, will make his debut for the Tide tonight after missing the first 12 games with a calf injury. Nate Oats on his pregame CTSN radio interview: “I’m excited. He’s a veteran shooter that can really make shots. He’s got that experience that you’re looking for. They won at a lot of games at St. Bonaventure. He started a lot of games over his four year career.”

Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.