Mississippi State
1-2Tourn, 3-3
Miami (Ohio)
2-1Tourn, 3-1
Bulldogs Succumb To RedHawks Late, 67-60, In Anaheim Classic Finale
November 25, 2007 | Men's Basketball
? Official Statistics
? Official Statistics (PDF)
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Mississippi State held a 56-52 lead with 4:58 remaining only to see Miami of Ohio outscore the Bulldogs 15-4 down the stretch for a 67-60 victory Sunday night, as the RedHawks took third place in the inaugural Anaheim Classic.
The Bulldogs (3-3) were led by Charles Rhodes' season-high 25 points (on a career-high 11 field goals), which also pushed him over the 1,000-point mark for his MSU career. He added 10 rebounds for a double-double effort. Jamont Gordon added 18 points to State's cause. Gordon was named to the event's all-tournament team. For the tournament, he averaged a team-high 17.7 points along with 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
Miami's Michael Bramos notched a career-high for the second consecutive game, tossing in 30 points to lead the RedHawks (3-1). He was 9-of-18 shooting from the floor and 9-of-11 at the charity stripe. Tim Pollitz followed with 15 points scored.
The RedHawks led 29-24 at halftime, but led by as many as 12 in the first half and 28-17 with 2:51 to go before the intermission before State chipped away at the lead in the waning minutes of the half.
On the strength of a Ben Hansbrough three-point jumper, MSU took the lead at the 14:55 mark in the second half for the first time since scoring the first two points to open the game. The Bulldogs would build their largest lead of the night at the 7:06 mark when a Rhodes dunk made the score 52-47. But Miami kept things close and evened things at 56-56 on two Pollitz free throws with 3:42 to go.
The Bulldogs would manage just one field goal the rest of the way and Bramos would score nine of Miami's final 11 points to help the RedHawks pull away for the win in the last 2:03.
Miami has now held 38 straight opponents to less than 70 points.
State returns to competition this Saturday, Dec. 1, hosting Murray State at Noon CT to start a three-game homestand at Humphrey Coliseum in early December.
