State Holds Off 'Bama, 73-66

Wednesday, February 6

Starkville

7:00 p.m.

Mississippi State

(15-7, 6-2SEC)

Alabama

(13-10, 2-6SEC)

Alabama

Mississippi State

February 06, 2008 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

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

STARKVILLE, Miss. ? Mississippi State (15-7, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) staved off a challenge from visiting Alabama Wednesday night, notching a 73?66 victory over the Crimson Tide (13-10, 2-6). It was State's third consecutive victory, including this season's sweep, over its rival from across the state line.

Jamont Gordon led the Bulldogs with an out-of-the-ordinary double-double, recording 17 points and a career-high-tying 10 assists. He also tallied six rebounds. Lone senior Charles Rhodes fell just one rebound shy of his third-straight double-double with 17 points and nine boards, while sophomore Barry Stewart registered 13 points and nine rebounds to also fall just one board shy of a double-double. In his return to the lineup, sophomore Ben Hansbrough shot 3-of-8 to score 10 points in the victory.

Five Tide members scored in double figures in the road loss, led by junior Alonzo Gee's 16-point effort. Senior Mykal Riley added 15 points despite a 1-of-6 effort from behind the arc.

After a combined 3-of-16 start to the first half for both teams, the Bulldogs built a slim 33-29 advantage between stanzas. The second half would nearly mimic the first, with small runs managed by both teams though Alabama would never lead. However, a three-pointer by Gee would finally place UA within striking distance at the 3:31 mark, trimming the MSU advantage to just two at 65-63. That would be as close as the Tide would come, as State outscored ?Bama 8-3 on free-throw shooting down the stretch to ice the game in the final minute.

The victory marked the first series sweep for MSU over Alabama since the 1998-99 campaigns. The State win also marks the first time since 1983-85 that MSU has posted three-straight defeats of the Crimson Tide.

UA has not defeated the Bulldogs in Humphrey Coliseum since 2005. Ranking second in the nation in both field-goal percentage defense (36.3%) and blocks per game (8.67bpg), MSU neared its averages in both categories in the affair, holding Alabama to 36.2% shooting from the field and swatting six shots.

In only his 311th game at the helm, Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury established his claim as the SEC's 20th all-time member in the prestigious 200-win club with Wednesday's victory.

Now in sole possession of first place in the SEC's Western Division, State now travels to face the Auburn Tigers (12-9, 2-6) this Saturday, Feb. 9. Tipoff for the event is set for 6 p.m. CT on the Auburn campus and the contest will be televised by FSN/SUN.