Mississippi State
14-12, 6-6
Ole Miss
17-10, 5-7
State Completes Sweep Of Rebels With 71-58 Win
February 19, 2011 | Men's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State ran its series win streak to five straight games as the Basketball Bulldogs defeated in-state rival Ole Miss 71-58 in a Southeastern Conference men's basketball game played before a crowd of 8,063 Saturday afternoon at Humphrey Coliseum.
The Bulldogs made it back-to-back season sweeps against the arch-rival Rebels and have accomplished that feat six times under 13th-year head coach Rick Stansbury. Stansbury is now 20-7 against the Rebels, including a 12-1 mark inside this arena.
Saturday's story may have been the solid all-around play of Renardo Sidney. Playing 31 minutes, Sidney logged his third double-double in the Maroon and White, scoring a game-high 22 points, while pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds – including 10 on the defensive end.
The Bulldogs hit 50 percent of their shots from the field in game's final half and broke away from a 33-33 halftime tie with a decisive 8-0 run in the early stages of the second half.
“I am awfully proud of how our kids stepped up and responded to the challenge,” Stansbury said. “I thought in the first half, we were uptight and did not attack well around the rim. One stat that stood out to me was that we had 21 assists and 10 turnovers. That was huge for us.
“Those kind of stats will help you win on most nights. I thought we let them hang around on second chance points, but besides that I am proud of how we played.”
With the victory – the Bulldogs' second largest margin of victory in a league game this season – MSU improved to 14-12 overall and 6-6 in conference play. Ole Miss fell to 17-10 and 5-7. The Bulldogs are now back in sole possession of second place in the SEC's Western Division with four league game remaining.
The teams played a spirit-filled, nip-and-tuck first half.
The Bulldogs grabbed early 7-4 and 9-7 leads. UM followed with a 10-3 run to take its largest lead of the game – at 17-12 with 11:58 left in the opening half.
MSU turned up the defensive pressure and slowly righted the ship. Coming off his best performance as Bulldog, Jalen Steele continued the strong play, stroking a go-ahead 3-pointer. That trey placed the Maroon and White on top 23-22 with 5:39 left before halftime.
The Bulldogs strung together six straight points to take a 33-26 lead with 2:08 left before halftime. Alas, the guests stormed right back. Trevor Gaskins nailed a 3-pointer, sparking a half-ending 7-0 run. Two free throws by Chris Warren forced the 33-33 tie with 32 seconds left before halftime.
In the game's final half, things turned totally Maroon.
A 3-pointer by Kodi Augustus placed the Bulldogs on top 39-35. UM followed with back-to-back baskets and a pair of defensive stops to create the game's final tie, at 39-39 with 15:19 left.
Ravern Johnson answered with the go-ahead 3-pointer on the other end for the Maroon and White. After a stop, Augustus had the defensive rebound and fed Sidney for a monster dunk.
After another UM miss, Riley Benock drained a transition 3-point basket to extend the MSU advantage to 47-39.
With the crowd roaring its approval, the lead pushed into double-digits as Benock again canned a trey. That 3-pointer made the run 13-2 and extended the Maroon and White cushion to 52-41 with 11:53 left.
UM closed within eight on a Terrance Henry layup. Not deterred, MSU answered with a 12-4 run, pushing the lead to 66-50 after Johnson sank all three free throws on a foul after a 3-point attempt. A layup by Sidney created the game's largest lead at 71-54 with just under two minutes remaining.
For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 24 of 52 shots from the field (46.2 percent), 9 of 22 shots from 3-point range (40.9 percent) and 14 of 20 shots from the foul line (70.0 percent). The Rebels hit 23 of 67 shots from the field (34.3 percent), 4 of 24 shots from 3-point range (16.7 percent) and 8 of 11 shots from the foul line (72.7 percent).
Ole Miss held a 41-34 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had a season-high 21 assists and 10 turnovers, while the Rebels had five assists and 12 turnovers.
Behind Sidney, Johnson followed with 16 points. Dee Bost had a season-high nine assists, while Benock also dished out seven assists.
Henry and Warren each had 13 points to pace Ole Miss. Zach Graham added 12 points, while Reginald Buckner had a team-high 11 rebounds.
The Bulldogs remain home for a Wednesday night encounter with LSU. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. from the Humphrey Coliseum. That contest will be televised regionally by Comcast Sports Southeast.
