Mississippi State 60, Vanderbilt 54

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Posted 11:19PM on Saturday, February 12, 2005

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) Mississippi State struggled to stop Vanderbilt's productive perimeter game for much of the second half until it mattered most. Shane Power scored 16 points despite an illness and the Bulldogs overcame Vanderbilt's 12 3-pointers in the second half of a 60-54 victory over the Commodores on Saturday night. Mississippi State never trailed, but blew a 15-point lead before shutting down the league's best 3-point shooting team in the final minutes. Vandy missed three 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds, allowing the Bulldogs to clinch their 12th straight home victory. ``To our kids' credit, we found a way to dig in in the last three minutes of that basketball game,'' Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said. Lawrence Roberts had all 15 of his points in the second half and added 14 rebounds for the Bulldogs (18-6, 6-4 Southeastern Conference). Vanderbilt pulled to 57-54 on Shan Foster's 3-pointer with 1:41 left, but went scoreless the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Mississippi State hit 3-of-6 free throws in the final 1:30 to improve to 10-0 at home this season. ``We had lapses sometimes in the game,'' Roberts said. ``We just wanted to buckle down and concentrate, and keep doing a good job on the defensive end.'' The Commodores (14-10, 4-6) used some hot perimeter shooting to make things interesting midway through the second half. Vandy which was 12-of-26 from beyond the arc in the second half used a 16-1 run to tie it at 47 on DeMarre Carroll's 3-pointer with 7:10 remaining. The Commodores hit four 3-pointers three by reserve Alex Gordon during that spurt and held the Bulldogs without a field goal for more than seven minutes. ``I was on the bench and I told a teammate 'I'm going to have to start looking for my shot,'' Gordon said. ``I knew I could shoot. It was all about just getting into the flow of the game.'' Mississippi State responded with eight straight points over about the next 3.5 minutes and led 55-47 with 3:36 to play. Foster had 14 points and Gordon had 11 to lead Vanderbilt, which hasn't won a game outside of Tennessee this season. Roberts, the SEC's second-leading scorer, shook off a scoreless first half and made 8-of-14 free throws in the final 20 minutes. Roberts had 10 rebounds after halftime, and the Bulldogs outrebounded Vandy 40-21. ``He was the difference in that basketball game in the second half,'' Stansbury said. Ontario Harper added 10 points for Mississippi State. Power questioned the Bulldogs' desire and toughness after last week's 14-point loss at last-place Auburn, then came out firing with 11 points and three 3-pointers in the first half despite a sore throat and trouble breathing. Sitting out, he said, was not an option. ``There was nothing that was going to keep me out of the 'Hump,''' Power said. Mississippi State scored the first 11 points and didn't allow Vandy to get closer than five in the first half. Vanderbilt's lone road victory this season came last month at Tennessee. The Bulldogs haven't lost at Humphrey Coliseum since a four-point setback to Alabama on Feb. 21, 2004. Winsome Frazier, Mississippi State's leading 3-point shooter and top defender, dressed but did not play. He broke a bone in his left foot five weeks ago in a win at Mississippi, the Bulldogs' last road victory.