Mississippi State
20-10, 7-8
South Carolina
10-19, 2-13
State Wins In OT At South Carolina, 69-67
February 29, 2012 | Men's Basketball
South Carolina missed the potential-game winner at the end of regulation. MSU had a similar chance in overtime and cashed in when Bryant sank a floater in the lane as time expired.
With the victory, the Bulldogs snapped a five-game losing streak - the second-longest such slide in Coach Rick Stansbury's 14 seasons as head coach. Once a nationally-ranked lock for the NCAA Tournament, the Maroon and White strengthened its postseason case by joining the 20-win club for the 10th time under Stansbury.
MSU improved to 20-10 overall and 7-8 in league play. The Bulldogs won a conference road game for the second time this season. MSU now stands in a three-way tie with LSU and Ole Miss in the league standings. With one regular season game left, the Bulldogs now know they will play in the opening-round of the conference tournament next Thursday in New Orleans, La.
South Carolina dropped to 10-19 and 2-13.
The teams battled nip-and-tuck thorough a tightly-contested first half. The Bulldogs played a very strong stretch to end the half and grab the momentum. Once down 22-20, MSU ended the half on a 13-4 run to take a 33-26 lead at the intermission.
Thanks to a monster night from Bryant and the strong inside play of Arnett Moultrie and Renardo Sidney, the Bulldogs held the lead for a large part of the opening stages of the second half.
A jumper by Bryant and dunk by Moultrie ran the MSU lead to 41-35 with 15:14 left in regulation. The Gamecocks scored the game's next seven points to grab a 42-41 advantage.
Quickly, MSU battled back for a 46-42 push on a Jalen Steele 3-point basket. The Bulldogs still held a five point lead before USC scored five straight to tie game at 53-53 with 4:59 left.
The Bulldogs battled back from down three with 1:18 left on an old-fashioned 3-point play by Moultrie. Two free throws by Moultrie with 10 seconds left tied the game and gave the Maroon and White a chance at overtime.
MSU improved to 2-2 in overtime games. Overtime losses to LSU and Georgia were part of the losing streak. The Bulldogs' other conference road win was an overtime triumph at Vanderbilt.
For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 26 of 58 shots from the field (44.8 percent), 4 of 17 shots from 3-point range (23.5 percent) and 13 of 15 shots from the foul line (86.7 percent). The Gamecocks hit 26 of 66 shots from the field (39.4 percent), 10 of 24 shots from 3-point range (41.7 percent) and 5 of 10 shots from the foul line (50.0 percent).
MSU held a 38-37 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 17 assists and 14 turnovers, while the Gamecocks had 12 assists and 13 turnovers.
Moultrie posted his conference-best 17th double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Sidney added his second double-double with 12 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Bryant had a team-best 16 points, his best total in a league game this year. Bost was also in double figures with 13 points.
Bruce Ellington paced the Gamecocks with 17 points. Damontre Harris posted his second double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The squad's lone senior, Malik Cooke, scored 11 points on his Senior Night.
The Bulldogs host Arkansas at 4 p.m. Saturday. Senior Day festivities will be held in the pregame. Longtime radio broadcaster Jack Cristil will be presented at halftime with the unveiling of a banner to permanently honor his loyal service to the university. Fox Sports Net will have the regional telecast from the Humphrey Coliseum.
