'Dogs Oust 'Noles 86-71 To Advance To NIT Semifinals In New York

Tuesday, March 20

Starkville

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

(21-13)

Florida State

(22-13)

Team	1	2	F
Florida State	29	42	71
Mississippi State	42	44	86

'Dogs Oust 'Noles 86-71 To Advance To NIT Semifinals In New York

March 20, 2007 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

* Official Statistics
* Official Statistics (PDF)
* Postgame Notes & Quotes (PDF)
* NIT Ticket Info - New York

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State (21-13) handed visiting Florida State (22-13) an 86-71 defeat Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament. With the win, State punched its ticket to its first-ever NIT semifinal, which will be held next Tuesday, March 27, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The semifinal matchup will pair MSU against the winner of tonight's North Carolina State-West Virginia game. The MasterCard NIT semifinal contest will be televised nationally by ESPN2 on Tuesday, March 27. The tipoff times for the semifinal games will not be released until Wednesday.

For the second time this season, six Bulldogs scored in double figures Tuesday night. First-team all-SEC selection Jamont Gordon led the charge, notching 16 points, seven assists, and six rebounds on the afternoon. Charles Rhodes contributed 14, while senior Dietric Slater scored 13 on his last game on his home court. Freshmen Ben Hansbrough, Barry Stewart, and Jarvis Varnado recorded 12, 10, and 10 points respectively while grabbing a combined 12 rebounds.

Florida State saw junior guard Isaiah Swann dominate offensively, who recorded a career-high 31 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field, including a 9-of-13 effort from behind the arc.

State jumped out to a 17-9 lead early before FSU went on its only major run of the evening, a 13-4 streak to gain a 22-21 lead at the 8:16 mark of the first half. But Hansbrough hit a three-pointer on the next trip down, sparking a 9-0 MSU stretch, and the Seminoles would never lead again.

MSU led 42-29 at halftime and held advantages as high as 19 points in the second stanza. Florida State never trimmed the Bulldog lead to less than 11 in the half.

The win marks the 16th at home for coach Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs this season, ending the campaign with a 16-3 home record, an all-time high for MSU in both home wins and home games played. MSU will carry a seven-game home winning streak into their 2007-2008 campaign. MSU is now 5-2 in the NIT under Stansbury's guidance.

NIT SEMIFINAL/FINAL TICKET INFORMATION - NEW YORK

Congratulations to the Mississippi State Men's Basketball team on our victory tonight! We are now the first finalist to qualify to go to New York, so we want to get the following information to you quickly so that you can make your travel plans to join your Dawgs in the Big Apple.

The NIT only guarantees each participating school enough tickets for the team allotment. Because of that we want to provide you with the following options:

You can go to the website below to purchase up to eight (8) semifinal and/or final game tickets online. Please note that if you buy the semifinal ticket that you will need to purchase the final game ticket separately. You can also call Ticketmaster - Madison Square Garden during regular business hours at the number below to order up to eight (8) seats.

Ticketmaster NIT Web Site
Ticketmaster Phone: 212-307-1000

There will be no organized travel package available.

We hope to see you in New York and Go Dawgs!