Basketball Bulldogs Close Out Exhibition Play With 90-70 Victory

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• Postgame Quotes (PDF)

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Junior forward Kodi Augustus scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to pace the 18th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs to a 90-70 defeat of the visiting Georgetown College Tigers Saturday afternoon at Humphrey Coliseum.

MSU completed its two-game exhibition slate having never trailed in preseason action.

Augustus connected on 6-of-9 shots from the floor and all three of his free throws. All-SEC senior Jarvis Varnado fell just short of the team's second double-double with a team-high 17 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks.

Also scoring in double-digits were sophomore point guard Dee Bost with 14 points to go along with his 8 assists, while Phil Turner totaled 12 points.

Pacing the game in scoring was Georgetown College guard Eddie Gray, who put up 19 points and claimed 5 rebounds.

State jumped out to an early eight-point lead in the game's first 10 minutes. The Tigers responded with a six-point run capped by two consecutive treys from Vincent Crutcher to pull within two points with 8:50 left in the half. The Bulldogs responded in a big way, finishing the half on a 23-5 run sparked by a Varnado pass resulting in a dunk from Augustus. MSU led 41-22 at the break.

The Tigers increased their pressure on the boards and slowly chipped away at the Bulldog lead. With 11:27 remaining, a layup from Kyle Saxton began an 11-1 stretch from Georgetown that put the Tigers down just 65-58. This was as close as they would get, however, as the Bulldogs then rattled off another big 24-5 run of their own. MSU held Georgetown without a basket for 4:39 of the game until a three from Saxton in the last second of the contest.

MSU drained 25 of its 31 free throw attempts (80.6 percent) and shot 56.6 percent from the field. The team also registered 7 steals, blocked 6 shots and handed out 17 assists.

"This team had Louisville down nine right before half," MSU coach Rick Stansbury said. "It was two different games for us. At halftime I was very pleased. Our effort in the second half was not nearly as good. We have learned that you can't play the score and can't play the opponent."

Mississippi State opens its regular-season schedule on Friday, Nov. 13 against Rider at Humphrey Coliseum. Tip is set for a 8 p.m.