'Canes Rally Late To Down Bulldogs, 64-58

Thursday, December 13

Starkville

7:00 p.m.

Mississippi State

(5-4)

Miami

(9-0)

Miami (FL)

Mississippi State

State Upsets Gamecocks To Move Into SEC Tourney Semifinals; Meets LSU Saturday

'Canes Rally Late To Down Bulldogs, 64-58

December 13, 2007 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

? Official Statistics
? Official Statistics (PDF)
? Postgame Notes & Quotes (PDF)

STARKVILLE, Miss. ? After trailing 56-51 with 3:22 remaining in regulation, the visiting Miami Hurricanes (9-0) outscored Mississippi State (5-4) 13-2 the rest of the way to defeat the Bulldogs 64-59 Thursday evening at Humphrey Coliseum.

That run was highlighted by three-straight three-pointers from Miami junior Jack McClinton, who led all scorers with 29 points. After leading at halftime 28-27, the Bulldogs maintained small leads throughout most of the second stanza. It was only until the standout McClinton caught on fire from three, in scoring 11 straight points down the stretch, that State would lose the lead at the 1:26 mark for the final time.

Jamont Gordon tied for the MSU high with 18 points on a season-high 19 shots attempted to score in double digits for the ninth-straight time while sophomore standout Barry Stewart also notched 18 points on a 5-of-9 performance from behind the arc. Senior Charles Rhodes rounded out State players in double digits with 10 and also tallied seven rebounds.

MSU sophomore defensive presence Jarvis Varnado, who leads the SEC in blocks per game and ranks seventh in that category nationally, set a new Mississippi State single-game high by swatting 10 shots on the night and currently ranks seventh all-time at MSU.

The victory kept Miami's undefeated season intact and tonight's victory broke MSU's 23-straight December home-game victory streak.

As tonight's matchup involved two powerful defenses, the Hurricanes' ACC-leading field-goal percentage defense held the Bulldogs to 37.7% from the field although State ranks second in the SEC in the same category and held the Hurricanes to just 34.8% shooting.

Tonight's game capped a three-game homestand for the Bulldogs, who now will embark on a three-game road trip featuring treks to South Alabama, Loyola Marymount, and finally Texas A&M Corpus-Christi. The contest versus South Alabama will be held this Saturday, Dec. 15, at 7 p.m. CT in Mobile and will be televised by CSS.