State Downs Wildcats For Seventh Consecutive Win

Tuesday, January 15

Starkville

8:00 p.m.

Mississippi State

(12-5, 3-0SEC)

Kentucky

(7-8, 1-1SEC)

Kentucky

Mississippi State

State Downs Wildcats For Seventh Consecutive Win

January 15, 2008 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

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

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State sophomore standout Jarvis Varnado recorded only the third-ever triple-double in MSU history to help MSU dominate the Kentucky Wildcats on the defensive front and allow the Bulldogs (12-5, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) to secure a 69-64 home victory over visiting UK (7-8, 1-1) Tuesday night at Humphrey Coliseum.

Varnado, who led the NCAA in blocks per game entering the matchup, knocked away 10 Wildcat shots on the evening for his second-consecutive 10-block outing. The 6-9 center also notched 10 points and 12 rebounds to secure the triple-double performance. Jamont Gordon tied a career-high with five three-pointers to lead all scorers with 24 points while senior Charles Rhodes and redshirt freshman Phil Turner contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively, to round out State scorers in double digits.

In the hotly-contested loss, Wildcat Ramel Bradley scored 20-plus points for the fifth consecutive game with 22, including a perfect 8-of-8 mark from the charity stripe, and senior forward Joe Crawford pitched in 20.

In a physical battle in which Kentucky was forced to rely upon their guards' scoring due to Varnado's presence in the paint, MSU led the Wildcats 32-27 at halftime.

State would stretch the lead out to 46-35 in the second period. But Kentucky employed an offensive scheme to successfully draw Varnado out of the paint on offense, allowing easy buckets for their guards. The defensive grip tightened by UK in the closing minutes, holding MSU without a single field goal for the final 6:14 of the game. Free throws, a liability for State throughout most of the season, proved pivotal this time out, as the Bulldogs nailed 13 of their last 16 foul shots to secure a tough five-point home victory in front of a raucous home crowd.

Mississippi State's nationally top-ranked defense held the Wildcats, who have hit 48 percent of their field goals, to just 39.7 percent shooting. State outrebounded the ?Cats by a margin of 40-33. Ranking second in the nation in team blocks, MSU swatted 15 UK attempts after a 16-block outing versus Georgia Saturday.

MSU is 3-0 in SEC play for the first time since the 1993-94 campaign and has won six straight SEC games at home by an average margin of 14.0 points per victory. The Bulldogs have now also posted two consecutive victories over Kentucky for only the second time ever and the first time since the 1961-62 campaign.

Head coach Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs will look to continue their recent success this Saturday, Jan. 19, against the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa. Tipoff for the contest is set for 2 p.m. CT and the event will be televised regionally by Raycom Sports.