Strong Second Half Propels State Past Jaguars, 79-60, For Seventh Win

Saturday, December 13

Starkville

7:00 PM

Mississippi State

(7-3)

South Alabama

(6-4)

South Alabama

Mississippi State

Strong Second Half Propels State Past Jaguars, 79-60, For Seventh Win

December 13, 2008 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

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

STARKVILLE, Miss. ? Hot shooting and another powerful performance from star center Jarvis Varnado led Mississippi State (7-3) to a 79-60 victory against the South Alabama Jaguars (6-4) Saturday evening at Humphrey Coliseum.

Varnado put up eight points, six blocks and six rebounds by halftime to finish the game just a point shy of his career high of 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting, along with eight rebounds and six blocks.

Following their worst offensive production of the season last Wednesday against Charlotte, Mississippi State hit 29-of-54 shots for 53.7 percent Saturday against South Alabama, their second-best offensive performance of the season.

“I am proud that our kids bounced back after what happened Wednesday night,” MSU coach Rick Stansbury said. “I thought Phil Turner and our ability to play small was the difference in the game.”

In his first start of the season, Turner came up with a season-high 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting and a perfect 4 of 4 from the charity stripe, as well as recording four assists. Sophomore shooting specialist Ravern Johnson rounded out State scorers in double digits with 12 on a 3-of-4 effort from behind the arc.

Senior forward Brandon Davis was one of two Jaguars in double digits, leading USA with 19 points on 7-of-19 shooting. Senior guard Dominic Tilford put up 11 points after draining 3-of-6 treys.

After jumping out to a 5-0 start, the Bulldogs wouldn't relinquish the lead in the first half, taking a tight 32-29 advantage into the second stanza.

Matching MSU's first-half 5-0 start, a jumper from Davis granted USA its first lead of the night at the 19:15 mark of the second half. State responded in a big way, putting up 15 unanswered points sparked by a layup from freshman Dee Bost with 17:22 remaining in the game. MSU slowly stretched its lead throughout the remainder of the game.

The Bulldogs return to action Thursday against Cincinnati (6-1) in the Big East/SEC Invitational, with the nationally-televised ESPN2 showdown slated for a 5:30 p.m. tip.