Birthday boy Charles Bediako comes up for big Alabama against Miss. State
The birthday cake is going to taste a lot sweeter for Charles Bediako this year. The Alabama center celebrated turning 21 in style Friday afternoon, matching his season-high of five blocks while helping the Crimson Tide advance to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament with a 72-49 victory over Mississippi State.
In addition to swatting away the Bulldogs at the rim, Bediako also recorded 11 points and six rebounds, finishing second on the team with a +23 point differential during his 24 minutes on the court. His hustle earned him the team’s Hard Hat Award which was presented to him inside the team’s locker room after the game. That came in handy as the headwear protected him from an array of congratulatory slaps from his teammates who later serenaded him in a rendition of "Happy Birthday."
Star forward Brandon Miller says his vocals were the best of the bunch, but none of the Crimson Tide's players were shy about singing Bediako’s praises after the game.
"He's a great rim protector, one of the best in the country for sure,” junior forward Nick Pringle said. “It was just great to see him out there, you know, doing his thing. It was a great birthday game for him."
Added guard Jahvon Quinerly: “I’m happy for him. That’s my guy right there, Big Chuck.”
It was certainly a happier scene than last year when Bediako spent his birthday lamenting an SEC Tournament-opening loss to Vanderbilt. Friday, the sophomore center made sure that wouldn’t happen two years in a row, providing an early impact to help snap the Crimson Tide’s recent streak of slow starts.
Bediako slammed home a dunk to give Alabama a 7-0 lead before collecting a pair of blocks and rebounds by the first media timeout. From there, he proceeded to set the tone down low, recording 9 points, four rebounds and four blocks over the first period to help the Crimson Tide take a 41-21 lead into the half.
“That’s something I try to do every game,” Bediako said of his fast start. “I’ve had some up-and-down games, but obviously now it’s tournament time.”
After Alabama allowed Mississippi to chip away at the lead late in the second half, it was Bediako who helped seal the blowout. The sophomore center recorded his fifth block by denying a layup attempt from Mississippi State forward D.J. Jeffries to keep Alabama’s lead at 57-43 with 4:40 to play. A minute later, Bediako outleaped Bulldogs guard Cameron Matthews for an offensive rebound before finding open teammate Mark Sears for an open 3 to kill any of Mississippi State's remaining momentum.
“It’s not really just one person,” Bediako said. “Some guys set up guys to obviously have good stops as a team, and I think things went our way. I was just there on some spots I had to be and blocked some shots.”
Along with Bediako, Alabama leaned on graduate forward Noah Gurley, who came off the bench to record 11 points while going 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. Miller led the Crimson Tide with 18 points and nine rebounds and five assists while Quinerly netted 10 points four assists and a pair of steals in his first start of the season.
No. 4 Alabama (27-5) will play No. 25 Missouri (24-8) in a semifinal matchup on Saturday at noon CT inside Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.