Mississippi State
(9-5)
Lafayette College
(8-6)
Bulldogs Pound Lafayette College In Jackson, 77-53
January 05, 2008 | Men's Basketball
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? Postgame Notes & Quotes (PDF)
In their fourth visit to the state's capital in as many years, the Bulldogs were led in scoring by Ben Hansbrough who recorded 17 points on a 6-of-10 effort from the floor. Fellow sophomore Jarvis Varnado hit a perfect 5-of-5 to notch a career-high 16 points along with 12 rebounds to score his first double-double of the season and the second of his Maroon and White career. Freshman Ravern Johnson also pitched in a career-high effort on the afternoon, scoring 11 points on a 5-of-6 mark from the field. Jamont Gordon rounded out State squad members scoring in double digits with 15 points along with seven rebounds and seven assists.
Trailing by as many as 21 with 5:29 remaining in the first half, Lafayette ended the initial stanza on a 9-0 run to close the gap to 37-25 by the halftime buzzer. The Leopards continued that streak into the second half, scoring seven straight to trim the MSU lead to just five points at the 18:11 mark.
The next 10 minutes of the affair would be hard-fought, as
Senior Bilal Abdullah led the Leopards in the losing effort with a season-high 21 points on a 5-of-15 effort from the floor. Fellow senior Matt Betley pitched in eight rebounds along with six points.
Coming into the game ranked third in the nation in three-pointers made with an average of 11.3 per game, the Leopards were held to only six made shots from behind the arc Saturday by the Bulldogs. MSU's outstanding field-goal defense, which ranks second in the SEC at an average of 38.3%, held
Coach Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs will now turn their attention to Southeastern Conference play, as State travels to
