Mississippi State
22-10, 9-7
Florida
21-12, 9-7
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 28 | 41 | 69 |
| Mississippi State | 39 | 36 | 75 |
Basketball Bulldogs Hold Off Florida In SEC Tournament Opener
March 12, 2010 | Men's Basketball
• Official Statistics
• Official Statistics (PDF)
• Postgame Notes & Quotes
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Mississippi State saved one of its best offensive performances of the season for postseason play. The Bulldogs matched a conference tournament school-record by draining 10 3-point baskets in a 75-69 win over Florida in a Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament quarterfinal match Friday night at Bridgestone Arena.
The Western Division-top seeded Bulldogs advance to meet Vanderbilt - the East's No. 2 seed and winner over Georgia late Friday - in Saturday's semifinal round. Game time is 2:15 p.m. and ABC will have the national telecast. The Bulldogs will be the lone Western Division participant in the semifinal round.
Friday's win not only strengthened the Bulldogs' NCAA Tournament resume, it also allowed this squad to match a school record by winning a fifth straight SEC Tournament game. The Bulldogs also won five straight tournament games from 2002 to 2003.
MSU shot an amazing 57.1 percent from the field Friday night - the third best shooting percentage of the season and the best mark against any league opponent this year. The Bulldogs were seven percentage points better than a break-even night against South Carolina two weeks ago. Those are the only games against a league opponent where MSU has gone 50 percent or better from the field this season.
"I'm really proud of this team," MSU head coach Rick Stansbury said. "We didn't come into this, the way we wanted to. However, tonight we found a way to do some things that give yourself a chance to win. Defensively, we kept the guys at bay that really hurt us the first time in Gainesville (a 69-62 UF win last month)."
The Bulldogs did it by setting the tone early. MSU hit five of its first six shots from the field and quickly sprinted to a 10-0 advantage. MSU hit seven 3-point baskets in the opening half en route to a 10-for-20 night from 3-point land. That tally matched the 10 3-point makes in a 76-61 win over LSU at the 2003 SEC Tournament.
Back-to-back 3-point baskets by Barry Stewart and Ravern Johnson allowed the Bulldogs to run out to a 34-19 advantage. The inside play of Romero Obsy also proved large, as the Bulldogs were able to use the early offensive punch and four blocks by Jarvis Varnado to roll into a 39-28 advantage at halftime.
The Bulldogs again started the second half strong. A Bost trey capped a 7-0 run as the Bulldogs pushed out to a 46-31 advantage less than two minutes into the final half. A Varnado layup with 13:30 remaining allowed the Bulldogs to open their largest advantage, at 58-39.
From there, MSU used a disciplined offensive attack and strong free throw shooting to clinch the win. A 7-0 run by the Gators was halted by a Johnson jumper, which gave MSU a 70-64 lead with 1:44 left. The Gators did close within three, at 71-68, on a Kenny Boynton layup in the final half minute.
Stewart hit 6-of-7 free throws late to close out the victory.
"This is a new season," said Stewart, a senior guard. "We're competing for a championship. The energy tonight came from the whole team. Not only the ones out there, but the ones on the bench as well. I think (the bench) gave us a lot of emotion out there."
For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 28 of 49 shots from the field (57.1 percent), 10 of 20 shots from 3-point range (50.0 percent) and 9 of 11 shots from the foul line (81.8 percent). The Gators hit 24 of 56 shots from the field (42.9 percent), 9 of 24 shots from 3-point range (37.5 percent) and 12 of 19 shots from the foul line (63.2 percent).
UF held a 34-23 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 13 assists and 12 turnovers, while the Gators had nine assists and 12 turnovers.
Boynton led Florida with 23 points. Erving Walker added 19 points, while Chandler Parsons scored 10 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
Stewart paced the Bulldogs with 17 points, including a 3-of-6 night from 3-point land. Varnado added 15 points, while Johnson scored 12 points. Bost and Kodi Augustus each added 10 points for the Bulldogs. Johnson also added a team-high six rebounds. The Bulldogs are now 6-0 this season when five or more players reach double figures.
