Freshman guard Dazon Ingram scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Alabama answered an early challenge from Mississippi State in the second half en route to a 68-58 road win Tuesday in the SEC opener for both teams at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Miss.

Freshman guard Avery Johnson Jr. added 13 points for the Crimson Tide (8-5, 1-0 SEC), who beat Mississippi State for the seventh time in the last eight meetings.

Freshman guard Mario Kegler had 12 points, and freshman guard Tyson Carter added 10 points off the bench for Mississippi State (9-4, 0-1), which had its three-game losing streak snapped and lost for the fourth straight time at home to the Crimson Tide.

The Bulldogs opened the second half with an 8-0 run to get back into the game. Xavier Stapleton's dunk tied the score 42-42 at the 11-minute mark. But Alabama responded with a 9-2 run to regain control.

Riley Norris knocked down a 3-pointer with four minutes to play to push the Crimson Tide lead to 60-50, and Alabama held off Mississippi State down the stretch.

Johnson Jr. drained a 3-pointer from the left wing to give Alabama its first lead at 13-11 with 11:31 left in the first half. The Crimson Tide extended the lead from there, clamping down on the Bulldogs, who couldn't hit from the outside.

Mississippi State hit just one of 14 3-point attempts in the first half and trailed 32-20 at intermission. The 20 first-half points were a season-low for the Bulldogs.

Mississippi State, one of the youngest teams in the nation with eight freshmen on the roster, was outrebounded 43-26.

The Bulldogs are at LSU on Saturday. The Crimson Tide host Vanderbilt on Saturday.