Mississippi State
(20-8, 8-5SEC)
Alabama
(14-13, 4-9SEC)
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 29 | 37 | 66 |
| Mississippi State | 31 | 43 | 74 |
State Bests 'Bama As Varnado Sets NCAA Shot Block Record
February 24, 2010 | Men's Basketball
• Official Statistics
• Official Statistics (PDF)
• Postgame Notes & Quotes (PDF)
• FREE M2M VIDEO: Coach Stansbury's Postgame Press Conference
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STARKVILLE - A national record has been toppled.
Mississippi State's Jarvis Varnado now has 536 blocks for his career, most for any player in the history of college basketball.
Varnado swatted 8 Wednesday evening to break the record en route to a 74-66 MSU victory against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Humphrey Coliseum. With the loss by Arkansas at LSU, the Bulldogs (20-8, 8-5 SEC) now hold a one-game lead atop the Western division with just three games remaining. The Tide fell to 14-13 on the year and 4-9 in the league.
The all-SEC candidate and Naismith Award finalist also finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his 16th double-double of the season, 31st of his career.
Also making his mark in the MSU record books was fellow senior co-captain Barry Stewart, who hit one three to become State's all-time leader in three-pointers made with 259 for his career.
Leading the Bulldogs was sophomore Dee Bost, who brought down 22 along with 3 steals. Juniors Ravern Johnson and Kodi Augustus scored 12 and 11, respectively, to round out State scorers in double digits. Augustus also added 7 rebounds and 3 assists.
Mikhail Torrance scored 23 points to lead the Crimson Tide.
In a matchup of the league's top two defenses, the Bulldogs struggled to contain Torrance, who had 15 by halftime. The game's first stanza featured eight lead changes, as MSU trailed 16-12 with 10:50 remaining. As the halftime buzzer sounded, State held onto a tight 31-29 advantage.
Despite a tough effort from both sides, Mississippi State didn't relinquish the lead throughout the second half. After an early 6-1 run sparked by Varnado's fourth block with 17:15 remaining, the Bulldogs led 43-36 with 14:13 left. Varnado swatted 6 in the second half, including a massive rejection of a Torrance jumper with 4:36 on the clock to bring down the NCAA record and send the raucous crowd of 8,477 to their feet.
MSU held a comfortable 59-49 lead and seemed in control of the game with 7:27 left, but the Tide wasn't done. Riding on State's focus on the defensive end, Alabama orchestrated a 10-2 run to pull the Bulldog advantage to just 61-59 with 3:49 remaining. Bost then stepped into clutch mode and drained two consecutive treys from well outside the arc to ice the game.
"It's a special night," MSU coach Rick Stansbury said. "Anytime you can have two guys like this on your team, it's amazing. One thing the record won't tell you is how great of people Stewart and Varnado are. I can promise you, as important and as special as those records are, both of them are that much more special. When you can coach two guys like this at the same time, you realize how blessed you are as a coach."
The win hands Mississippi State its 16th season with at least 20, with nine of those under the direction of Stansbury. MSU has now won five-straight against its cross-state rival at Humphrey Coliseum.
Continuing its push for a bid in the NCAA Tournament, Mississippi State next travels to Columbia to face the South Carolina Gamecocks (14-12, 5-7) on Saturday. Tipoff for the ESPN-televised event is set for 5 p.m.
