Atlanta, GA -- (Sports Network) - Mykal Riley tied a school record with eight three-pointers and finished with 26 points to lead the fifth-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide to an 80-69 victory over the fourth-seeded Florida Gators in the first round of the SEC Tournament.

Richard Hendrix tallied 22 points for Alabama (17-15), which will do battle with Mississippi State, the West Division's top seed, in Friday's quarterfinal round. Alonzo Gee pitched in 13 points for the Crimson Tide.

Marreese Speights netted 15 points in the loss for Florida (21-11), which had won this tournament in each of the past three years.

The Crimson Tide went on runs of 14-0 and 11-0 in the first 11 minutes of the contest to jump out to a seemingly insurmountable 46-23 lead at intermission.

Florida made things interesting in the second half, cutting the lead to 57-51 with nine minutes remaining. Fortunately for the Tide, Riley's shooting sealed the victory.

Alabama earned a 45-29 rebounding advantage, key to the win.

Florida's steak of 18 consecutive postseason victories came to an end, and the team now must wait until Sunday to learn whether it will have a chance to play for a third consecutive national championship.

The Crimson Tide have six SEC Tournament titles to their credit, the second- most among all active league members. Still, they have not captured the crown since 1991.