Mississippi State
21-9, 12-4SEC
LSU
13-17, 6-10SEC
State Holds Off LSU, 84-75, In Regular Season Closer; Heads To Atlanta As West #1
March 08, 2008 | Men's Basketball
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STARKVILLE, Miss. - On an emotional Senior Day, Mississippi State senior Charles Rhodes capped a tremendously successful career in Humphrey Coliseum by scoring a team-high 27 points to lead the 25th-ranked Bulldogs (21-9, 12-4 Southeastern Conference) to an 84-75 home victory over the visiting LSU Tigers (13-17, 6-10) in the regular-season closer for both teams.
The 29th all-time member of MSU's 1,000 point club, Rhodes notched his ninth double-double of the season and 15th of his career with 10 rebounds to go along with his 27-point performance. For the second time in as many games, Cousy Award finalist Jamont Gordon joined Rhodes in contributing more than 20 points with 23 to go along with nine rebounds and four assists. Sophomore shooting specialist Ben Hansbrough tallied 12 points on a 3-of-6 performance from behind the arc, while the nation's leading shot-blocker, sophomore Jarvis Varnado, swatted seven shots and claimed six rebounds in the game.
LSU junior standout Marcus Thornton tied his previous career high in the game by recording 38 points on a 6-of-12 effort from long range while junior center Chris Johnson pitched in 17 points and six rebounds for the Tigers. Freshman Anthony Randolph rounded out LSU scorers in double digits with 14 and 10 rebounds to record his ninth double-double of the season.
The game began well for State, as the Bulldogs were lifted by two-straight, three-pointers from Hansbrough. The Tigers came back late in the half, however, gaining the lead at the 2:42 mark by a score of 36-35. LSU would ride that to a slim 43-42 advantage at halftime.
The affair would remain tight well into the second stanza until the Bulldogs stormed out to a 24-5 run between the 18:11 mark to the 7:21 mark, highlighted by the first made three-pointer of Varnado's Maroon and White career. Thornton responded for the Tigers in a fashion all too familiar to MSU, by getting hot from three. Thornton drained three-straight treys to cut the Bulldog advantage to 75-71 with 2:14 remaining. The streak would end, however, as the junior missed two long-range attempts and State pulled away in the closing minutes.
With the victory, the Bulldogs posted their 12th regular-season SEC win, the most since 2003-04. State also completed back-to-back sweeps of the LSU Tigers for the first time since 1997-98.
In the win, State also broke Kentucky's 240-block SEC single-season record, recording 10 blocks in the affair to total 243 rejections on the season.
With the completion of regular-season play, MSU will now head to postseason play in Atlanta, Ga., next weekend (March 13-16) for the 2008 SEC Tournament. As the Western Division's top seed, the Bulldogs have a bye in the first round on Thursday. On Friday, March 14, State will face the winner of the Thursday matchup between Florida (the Eastern Division's #4 seed) and Alabama (the Western Division's #5 seed). The Bulldogs' first contest is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. CT) Friday in Atlanta's Georgia Dome.
