Mississippi State
(1-1)
Clemson
(2-0)
Bulldog Cagers Held Off By Clemson, 84-82
November 15, 2007 | Men's Basketball
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STARKVILLE, Miss.- Clemson escaped Starkville with an 84-82 victory Thursday evening at Humphrey Coliseum despite Mississippi State all-American candidate Jamont Gordon's 11th career double-double effort.
Gordon scored 23 points on a 7-of-16 effort from the floor to surpass the prestigious 1,000-career point mark, along with 12 rebounds. Fellow All-SEC, first-teamer Charles Rhodes recorded 17 points of his own in the losing effort, while sophomore standout Jarvis Varnado also claimed 12 rebounds and his second-straight six-block outing. Sophomore Barry Stewart added a dozen points for the Bulldogs. Louisville transfer Brian Johnson, who formerly recorded his only career double-double versus Clemson as a Cardinal, notched 10 points to score in double figures for only the second time in his collegiate career and round out State squad members scoring in double digits.
The Tigers were led by freshman guard Terrence Oglesby and junior K.C. Rivers who each scored 17 points on a collective 9-of-23 effort from the floor. As a team, Clemson was held to only 34 percent from the floor but took the advantage by attempting six more shots than the Bulldogs.
After losing the lead early in the first half, coach Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs (1-1) went into halftime down 39-32. After a hard-fought second stanza, State was sparked by a Varnado jumper and stormed out to a 9-0 run to take a two-point lead. Soon after, however, the Tigers would respond with an 8-0 stretch of their own to regain the lead for the final time.
The loss breaks an eight-game home winning streak for Mississippi State, as Stansbury remains just six wins shy of surpassing his mentor Richard Williams for the title of the winningnest head basketball coach in MSU history.
