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BASKETBALL BULLDOGS TAKE ROAD TRIUMPH AT VANDERBILT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – On this night, the Memorial Magic was dressed in Maroon.
Mississippi
State mounted a monumental comeback Saturday night as the 15th-ranked
Bulldogs rallied from down 11 points at halftime to knock off
Vanderbilt 78-77 in an overtime thriller played in the Memorial Gym.
Winning
for only the ninth time ever in Nashville (and first time in Memorial
since 2004), MSU notched its first conference road win of the year,
while moving to 16-4 overall and 3-2 in league play. Vanderbilt saw an
eight-game win streak snapped, while falling to 14-5 and 4-1.
After
a narrow defeat at Ole Miss Wednesday night, a chance to maintain its
national ranking looked shaky at best as the Maroon and White plodded
through a difficult first half.
Things
changed suddenly in the second half as the Bulldogs reeled off 14
straight points in less than three minutes to erase a 39-28 halftime
deficit. The Bulldogs hit their first seven 3-point baskets of that
half and led by as many as 10 before Vanderbilt rallied to force
overtime.
“This
is one of the best defensive teams Vanderbilt has ever had,” MSU head
coach Rick Stansbury said. “They are a complete team. For our team to
go on the road and pull off a win like this, it is special.”
The
Commodores quickly built a 16-6 lead less than six minutes into the
contest. Vanderbilt shot 53.6 percent in the opening half, including a
7-of-12 half from 3-point range. The Commodores ran the lead to 12
points at 24-12 with 9:31 left.
Vanderbilt would lead by as many as 13 before easing into halftime with the 39-28 advantage.
“Vanderbilt
just made shots,” Stansbury said. “It was not like our defensive effort
was bad. They have good shooters and they stepped up and made shots. At
halftime, we were not discouraged, just knew we had to play better.”
The
Bulldogs closed within two on a Dee Bost 3-pointer and tied the contest
on a layup by Renardo Sidney. One possession later, a Rodney Hood
3-pointer gave the Maroon and White its first lead, at 42-39.
Behind
the balanced scoring of Arnett Moultrie, Sidney and Bost, the Bulldogs
pieced together a 22-2 run to take a 48-41 lead with 15:24 left.
From
there, Jalen Steele took care of the offensive firepower, jamming a
series of critical 3-point baskets as the Maroon and White built a
63-53 lead with 7:50 left.
The
Commodores scored the game’s next nine points to close within one. Not
deterred, MSU ran the lead out to 68-62 before VU got back-to-back
3-point baskets from Lance Goulbourne and John Jenkins in the final
1:20 of regulation.
Each team had a possession in the final 10 seconds but neither scored and overtime was forced at 68-68.
“The
kids were really down in the huddle going into the overtime,” Stansbury
said. “We had to get them back up because it was a still a very
winnable game.”
Moultrie
set the tone in overtime with his squad’s first five points. Sidney
also added a critical 3-point basket. The Bulldogs missed the front end
of two different one-plus-ones but survived when Jenkins missed a
3-pointer off the iron as time expired.
For
the contest, the Bulldogs hit 27 of 62 shots from the field (43.5
percent), 10 of 20 shots from 3-point range (50.0 percent) and 14 of 21
shots from the foul line (66.7 percent). The Commodores hit 29 of 60
shots from the field (48.3 percent), 14 of 27 shots from 3-point range
(51.9 percent) and 5 of 9 shots from the foul line (55.6 percent).
Bost
led the Bulldogs with 24 points. Moultrie posted his conference-best
11th double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Steele added 15
points.
Vanderbilt
received 21 points from Jenkins, 19 points from Jeffery Taylor, 12
points from Festus Ezeli and 12 points from Goulbourne. Ezeli also had
a double-double, as he grabbed 14 rebounds.
The
Bulldogs host LSU at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Humphrey Coliseum. That
contest will be televised regionally by the SEC Network and shown in
the Golden Triangle area on My Mississippi.
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