Mississippi State
(12-5, 2-0SEC)
Alabama
(11-5, 1-1SEC)
State Fends Off Tide, 83-74, To Win Fourth Straight And Move To 2-0 In SEC Play
January 14, 2009 | Men's Basketball
? Official Statistics
? Official Statistics (PDF)
? Postgame Notes & Quotes (PDF)
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? A pair of double-double efforts powered the Mississippi State Bulldogs (12-5, 2-0 SEC) to the team's first second-half comeback victory of the season with an 83-74 win against the visiting Alabama Crimson Tide (11-5, 1-1) Wednesday evening at Humphrey Coliseum.
The win was the fifth-straight for the Bulldogs over their border rival, and sixth victory in the past seven against the Tide.
All-SEC candidates junior Jarvis Varnado and freshman Dee Bost recorded the double-doubles for MSU. Varnado, currently ranked second in the conference in rebounding, grabbed 10 boards and scored 11 points while Bost, ranked fourth in assists, handed out 10 ? a tie for his season high - and notched 13 points for MSU's first two double-double performance since last year's matchup against Memphis in the NCAA Tournament's second round.
Sophomore Phil Turner led State scorers with a career-high matching 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3 of 4 from behind the arc. Experienced junior Barry Stewart added 13 points while freshman big-man Romero Osby put up eight points and six rebounds.
For the Tide, junior guard Mikhail Torrance led the game with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting while senior guard Gee had 15 on a 7-of-17 effort. Standout senior and former All-American Ronald Steele did not play due to an injured foot.
The Bulldogs trailed 36-33 at the break after struggling on offense during the first half. State peeled off a 13-5 run out of halftime to regain the lead at the 17:44 mark with a Stewart trey. During the run, the Bulldogs seemed to be pulling away, gaining their largest lead of 13 with a layup from freshman Twany Beckham at the 6:52 mark to put MSU ahead 72-59.
The Tide responded with a 9-0 run, however, to eventually pull within four with just 1:43 remaining. With several free throws and buckets traded back and forth, the play of the game came with 46.8 seconds left. Stewart stole a Hollinger pass and handed it off to Bost, who hurled it downcourt to a wide-open Varnado, and the resulting jam brought the crowd to its feet and put the score at 75-68.
The Tide was unable to respond, and didn't pull to within more than five the remainder of the game.
“We played loose in the second half,” MSU coach Rick Stansbury said. “With that came some made baskets and it became contagious.”
As a team, State benefited from 18 assists, second-most this season. Leading the nation in blocks per game, MSU swatted 10
