Bulldogs Claim Second In SEC West With Road Win Over Gamecocks
May 25, 2016 | Men's Basketball
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Mississippi State crashed South Carolina's party on Saturday and didn't even know it.
The Gamecocks, celebrating the end of the Carolina Coliseum's 34-year history and honoring their two seniors, were able to cherish the building with one more game that wasn't decided until the final moments.
Mario Austin scored 19 points leading the Bulldogs to a 64-57 victory over South Carolina, which has dropped three straight.
"We didn't even know about those parties," Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said.
But the Bulldogs (23-7, 10-6 Southeastern Conference) were the ones partying after the game.
Mississippi State has won five straight, eight of their last 10, and are likely headed the NCAA tournament for the first time in five seasons. The Bulldogs also clinched second place in the SEC West.
Roland Howell's two free throws put the Gamecocks (16-13, 7-9) ahead 57-56, but Ontario Harper hit a 3-pointer to put Mississippi State back up 59-57.
Jamel Bradley's 3 with 1:10 left would have given the Gamecocks the lead but it missed badly. Bradley was 0-for-7 as South Carolina finished 0-for-19 from long range. The last time the Gamecocks didn't hit a 3 in a game was 1995 against Kentucky.
Derrick Zimmerman hit a short bucket with 36.8 seconds left that put the Bulldogs up 61-57. After Chuck Eidson's long-range attempt missed, Austin hit two free throws to seal the win.
Austin needed his teammates late in the second half. The Bulldogs' leading scorer, averaging 16.1 points a game, got into foul trouble midway through the half. He went to the bench for more than nine minutes.
"We had some guys step up," Stansbury said, referring to freshman Marcus Campbell and Harper. "We didn't lose anything" when Austin was sitting.
In fact, the Bulldogs took their first lead of the second half with Austin on the bench. Bowers' put back gave Mississippi State a 50-49 lead with 7:17 left.
Harper finished with 10 points, Timmy Bowers came off the bench with nine and Zimmerman added eight. Campbell was 2-for-2 with four points.
Howell led the Gamecocks with a career-high 24 points and Eidson had 10.
Stansbury said his team deserves more recognition. The Bulldogs haven't been ranked in the Top 25 since early January.
"A lot of people don't know about what our team has done lately," he said.
Since beating Alabama 76-62 on Feb. 9, the Bulldogs have won six of their last seven.
Bradley, the Gamecocks leading scorer, was averaging 3.41 3-pointers a game. But he finished with just four points, almost 10 below his average.
"When you go 0-for-19 from three, I mean the story is pretty much written," South Carolina coach Dave Odom said.
Odom said he thought the Gamecocks got as many open looks as Mississippi State, but the shots just weren't falling.
"They made theirs down the stretch and we didn't," Odom said.
Mississippi State overcame 12 turnovers in the first half and shot just 31.8 percent as the Gamecocks built a 28-21 lead at the break. But the Bulldogs improved in the second half to 54.8 percent while the Gamecocks shot just 32 percent.
South Carolina has asked to host a game if it gets accepted into the NIT tournament. But for now, the Gamecocks said goodbye to Frank McGuire Arena.
Next season South Carolina will be playing in a 17,000-seat arena less than a block from the old building.
MISSISSIPPI STATE (23-7)
Gholar 1-5 0-0 3, Ignerski 3-9 0-0 7, Austin 5-8 9-11 19, Zimmerman 4-10 0-0 8, Patterson 1-3 2-2 4, Goffer 0-0 0-0 0, Campbell 2-2 0-0 4, Gardner 0-2 0-0 0, Bowers 4-9 0-0 9, Harper 4-4 0-0 10, Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-53 11-13 64.
SOUTH CAROLINA (16-13)
Eidson 3-8 4-4 10, Howell 7-14 10-11 24, Petravicius 1-2 0-0 2, Lucas 4-7 1-2 9, Bradley 2-11 0-0 4, Powell 0-3 0-0 0, Warren 2-8 1-2 5, Kitchings 1-3 1-4 3. Totals 20-56 17-23 57.
Halftime -- South Carolina 28, Mississippi State 21. 3-Point goals -- MississippiSt 5-10 (Gholar 1-2, Ignerski 1-2, Patterson 0-1, Gardner 0-1, Bowers 1-2, Harper 2-2), SCarolina 0-19 (Eidson 0-4, Lucas 0-2, Bradley 0-7, Powell 0-2, Warren 0-4). Fouled out -- None. Rebounds -- MississippiSt 40 (Gholar, Austin 9), SCarolina 29 (Howell 7). Assists -- MississippiSt 14 (Zimmerman 5), SCarolina 12 (Eidson 6). Total fouls -- MississippiSt 19, SCarolina 15. A -- 9,429.
