LSU Ends Bulldog Win Streak With Convincing 81-57 Victory In Baton Rouge

Wednesday, January 21

Baton Rouge, La.

7:00 PM

Mississippi State

(13-6, 3-1SEC)

LSU

(15-3, 3-1SEC)

Mississippi State

LSU

MSU's Jarvis Varnado Picks Up Another Defensive Player Of The Year Honor

LSU Ends Bulldog Win Streak With Convincing 81-57 Victory In Baton Rouge

January 21, 2009 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

? Official Statistics
? Official Statistics (PDF)

BATON ROUGE, La. - Another monster night by LSU's Marcus Thornton proved too much for the Mississippi State men's basketball team to overcome.

After scoring 38 points last season in MSU's Humphrey Coliseum, Thornton poured in 31 more points Wednesday night as the Tigers rolled past the Bulldogs 81-57 in a Southeastern Conference basketball game played in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

MSU saw its modest five-game win streak snapped. Meanwhile, LSU stretched its home court win streak to 17 straight games, including the first 14 games of this season. The Tigers improved to 15-3 overall, while the Bulldogs slipped to 13-6 overall. Inside the conference, MSU and LSU are tied atop the Western Division, each with 3-1 records.

MSU had actually won the last four in this lengthy series, including the last two played in this building. Wednesday would prove much different. The Bulldogs never led in this contest. MSU did trim a 13-point first-half deficit, trailing only 36-30 at the halftime. A Jarvis Varnado dunk meant the Bulldogs only trailed 38-35 with 18:42 left in the contest.

From there, it was all Thornton all the time. A 6-foot-4 senior guard from Baton Rouge, Thornton tallied his sixth 30-plus point performance in his two years with the Tigers. Thorton and Bo Spencer hit back-to-back 3-point baskets during an 11-0 run as the Tigers grabbed a 49-35 lead. Thornton then reeled off three straight 3-point baskets as the Tigers pretty much removed all doubt from the contest.

The long-range bombing eventually allowed the hosts to stretch that 11-0 run into a 27-7 run. This spree allowed the Tigers to open a 65-42 advantage with 11:38 remaining. Thornton, who had 11 points in the first half, scored 17 points in a four-minute stretch of the final half. The Tigers would lead by as many as 27 in the closing minutes.

For the contest, MSU hit 19 of 52 shots from the field (36.4 percent), 5 of 20 3-point shots (25.0 percent) and 14 of 18 shots from the foul line (77.8 percent). The Tigers hit 29 of 60 shots from the field (48.6 percent), 8 of 18 shots from 3-point range (44.4 percent) and 15 of 19 shots from the foul line (78.3 percent).

LSU held a whopping 44-24 advantage in rebounding. The Bulldogs had nine assists and 11 turnovers, while the Tigers had 16 assists and 11 turnovers.

Varnado led the MSU offensive attack with 18 points but only managed a team-high four rebounds and no blocked shots. Ravern Johnson was also in double figures with 10 points. For LSU, Tasmin Mitchell followed Thornton with 24 points. Chris Johnson had a team-high 12 rebounds, while Garrett Temple had a team-high six assists.

The Bulldogs remain on the road for their next outing. MSU plays Georgia in a 5 p.m. CT start Saturday in Athens. That contest will be televised nationally by ESPN2. The Bulldogs then have the midweek off before hosting in-state rival Ole Miss in a Noon CT start on Jan. 31.