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AUBURN, Ala. - Co-captains Jamont Gordon and Charles Rhodes each recorded a double-double as the Mississippi State Bulldogs (16-7, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) cruised past the Auburn Tigers (12-10, 2-7) by a final score of 83-64 in their third in-conference road victory Saturday night on the road.
State has now posted wins over Auburn in 12 of the teams' last 14 meetings.
The all-America candidate Gordon tied his previous career record of 13 rebounds along with tallying a game-high 24 points on 11-of-12 free throw shooting to record his second-straight double-double of the season. Rhodes pitched in 17 points and 10 rebounds to mark his third double-double outing in the past four contests. Sophomore Ben Hansbrough tied his previous season high in points scored with 20 on a 4-of-7 mark from behind the arc to round out State scorers in double digits.
Leading the nation in blocks per game, sophomore defensive presence Jarvis Varnado surpassed Erick Dampier's previous all-time MSU season-block record of 106 swats with tonight's six-block effort, as he now owns 111 rejections on the season.
Despite a 7-of-22 effort from the floor, junior guard Rasheem Barrett led Auburn with 18 points and six rebounds, while Frank Tolbert and Quantex Robertson added 17 and 16 points, respectively.
Storming out to a 12-0 run fueled by two three-pointers from Hansbrough, MSU limited Auburn to only two made shots out of their first 12 from the floor. Things would not get much better for the Tigers in the first half, as State held a 17-1 rebound advantage early. Taking a comfortable 44-29 advantage into halftime, MSU shot 56.5% from the floor in the beginning stanza and held the Tigers to just 29.0%.
The second half would see a flurry of streaks for both teams, as Auburn managed to score six-straight to trim the margin to just 10 points at the 11:33 mark. Gordon would soon quiet the Tigers, however, by rushing down the floor and draining a three to spark a 12-2 run for State. MSU would finally close out the game in the final minutes by putting up a nearly identical 11-2 run, giving State their largest lead of 83-60 at the 2:01 mark.
State's 46-27 rebound margin was the largest this season, and its 19-point win was the largest road victory over the Auburn Tigers since the 2000-01 campaign. The Bulldogs' 23-of-26 (88.5%) free throw shooting was the team's best in a game with at least six free throws attempted since the 2004-05 season. State continues to rank second in the nation in field-goal percentage defense and blocks per game by holding the Tigers to 33.8% shooting from the floor on the night and swatting nine opponent shots as a team.
Currently leading the SEC's Western Division, Mississippi State will now take this Wednesday off before facing the Arkansas Razorbacks (17-5, 6-2) at home on Saturday, Feb. 16, in a game likely to have major implications on the divisional title race. The contest will be televised nationally by ESPN, and tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CT.
