Mississippi State
11-9, 3-3
#24 Florida
16-5, 5-2
State Upsets #24 Florida With 71-64 Victory
January 29, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Less than 36 hours after a heart-breaking loss to Vanderbilt, the Maroon and White bounced back. This time, the home team made critical play after critical play in the closing minutes. The Gators failed to score from the field in the final 5:40 of play.
"I am very proud of the effort by my kids," MSU head coach Rick Stansbury said. "We were proud of the effort Thursday night (in an 81-74 loss). The difference in this game is we made some really great plays down the stretch.
"Defensively, we are not where we want to be. However, today we took a great stride toward being that kind of team."
The Bulldogs improved to 11-9 overall and 3-3 in league play. Eastern Division leader Florida fell to 16-5 and 5-2. For MSU, it was their first win over a ranked team this year and also its first win over an Eastern Division opponent for this season. MSU has now won four the past five in the series with Florida.
Playing before a regional television audience and a very spirited Humphrey Coliseum crowd of 7,512, the Bulldogs sprinted out of the gates to a furious start. MSU hit three of its four 3-point attempts and quickly rolled out to an 11-6 advantage.
MSU built that lead to seven points and then eventually stretched it to a game-best 10 points - at 25-15 with 11:56 left before halftime.
The quick start was fueled by 11 points from Kodi Augustus, including three 3-point makes.
The Maroon and White held the better of it for the remainder of the first half. The Gators eventually pulled even with a 10-3 run forcing a 38-38 tie.
A jumper by Ravern Johnson placed MSU back on top, 40-38 at the intermission.
"We made some really good effort plays," Stansbury said. "We made some shots early and that allowed the team to play with a lot of confidence."
The Bulldogs scored the first four points of the second half as a pair of free throws by Renardo Sidney placed the Maroon and White ahead, 44-38. Minutes later, a 3-pointer by Dee Bost extended the lead to 51-42.
Again, Florida staged a furious rally. This time, The Gators enjoyed a 13-1 run and suddenly grabbed a 55-52 advantage with 12:19 remaining.
The Bulldogs held difficulty with UF's full-court pressure. However, MSU kept the turnovers to a minimum, instead using a few time outs in the process.
MSU eventually reestablished it's inside game and again took control of the contest.
A 3-pointer by Bost gave MSU a 60-57 lead. Florida held its last lead at 63-62 on an Erving Walker layup with 5:40 left.
With the teams deadlocked at 64, the Gators missed their final seven shots from the field and also missed four straight attempts at the free throw line.
"Obviously, Florida had some opportunities," Stansbury said. "(Florida coach) Billy (Donovan) has a really great team. Fortunately, the breaks went our way. Kodi drove the lane and got to the foul line a couple of times. We did well at closing out the game."
For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 22 of 54 shots from the field (40.7 percent), 8 of 23 shots from 3-point range (34.8 percent) and 19 of 23 shots from the foul line (82.6 percent). The Gators hit 25 of 63 shots from the field (39.7 percent), 5 of 21 shots from 3-point range (23.8 percent) and 9 of 19 shots from the foul line (47.4 percent).
UF held a 43-37 rebounding advantage. MSU had 11 assists and eight turnovers, while UF had 10 assists and eight turnovers.
The Bulldogs only had four players score - all in double figures. Bost had 24 points, followed by 16 from Sidney and Augustus and 15 from Johnson. Johnson also matched a career high eight rebounds. Sidney had a like number.
Walker paced Florida with 18 points, while Vernon Macklin scored 10 points.
MSU visits Alabama at 7 p.m. Wednesday night. The SEC Network will have a regional telecast from Coleman Coliseum.
