Mississippi State
(18-7, 6-4SEC)
Auburn
(12-13, 3-7SEC)
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT 1 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auburn | 38 | 36 | 1 | 75 |
| Mississippi State | 35 | 39 | 11 | 85 |
Bulldogs Fend Off Auburn 85-75 In Overtime; Reclaim Share Of West Lead
February 13, 2010 | Men's Basketball
• Official Statistics
• Official Statistics (PDF)
• Postgame Notes & Quotes (PDF)
• FREE M2M VIDEO: Coach Stansbury's Postgame Press Conference
• FREE M2M VIDEO: Postgame Player Interviews
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Sophomore Dee Bost scored a career-high 32 points to propel the Mississippi State Bulldogs (18-7, 6-4 SEC) to an 85-75 overtime victory against the visiting Auburn Tigers (12-13, 3-7) on Saturday at Humphrey Coliseum.
Bost drained a career-high 7 treys on 12 attempts while tallying 9 rebounds and 4 assists.
All-SEC senior Jarvis Varnado claimed 12 rebounds to give him 1,010 for his career, the third Bulldog in history to record at least 1,000. He also scored 10 points to complete his fifth-straight double-double performance, 15th of this season and 30th of his career.
Sophomore Romero Osby enjoyed a standout performance from the bench with 11 points, five coming from the charity stripe. Senior Barry Stewart scored 12 and junior Phil Turner notched 10 to round out MSU scorers in double digits, marking the fourth time State achieved the feat this season.
Seniors Tay Waller and Lucas Hargrove recorded 21 and 20 points, respectively, to lead the Tigers' offense. Hargrove also grabbed 10 rebounds for the game's second double-double.
After the Bulldogs jumped out to a 13-9 early-game lead, Auburn began draining outside shots and took control with a 14-0 run to lead 23-13 with 12:34 remaining. A trey from Bost capped a 10-0 MSU run in response, and the Bulldogs closed the Auburn lead to 38-35 at halftime.
The second half was an intense and competitive one that saw seven lead changes. Mississippi State first retook the lead on another Bost 3 with 14:51 remaining. After he sank two free throws with 1:08 left, Auburn led just 72-71. A thunderous dunk and the resulting free throw pushed MSU ahead 74-72 with 30 seconds left. A layup from Reed with 14 seconds remaining tied the game for the last time in regulation.
The Bulldogs turned up the heat in overtime, holding their opponent to without a field goal throughout the extra period and outscoring their opponents 11-1 in that time.
"They are a very difficult team to defend," MSU coach Rick Stansbury said. "We knew coming off an emotional game against Ole Miss with a quick turnaround that we might not be at our best, and if you get beat if you're not at your best. To our players' credit, though, they battled."
With the win, MSU moves into a tie with Arkansas for the division lead. The overtime period was the first for Mississippi State this season, while the team stands at 54-43 all-time in overtime games.
Mississippi State now faces another quick turnaround, hosting the 2nd-ranked Kentucky Wildcats at 8 p.m. Tuesday evening in a game televised nationally by ESPN.
