The University of Mississippi Athletics
No. 14 Ole Miss Upset by Mississippi State
1/9/2010 | Men's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Terrico White and Chris Warren made late 3's to keep Ole Miss in the game, but Mississippi State pulled off an 80-75 upset over the No. 14 Rebels in Saturday's Southeastern Conference opener at Tad Smith Coliseum.
Dee Bost tied his career high with 25 points to fuel Mississippi State's upset.
Bost scored 17 points in the second half for the Bulldogs (13-3), drawing fouls as he attacked the paint against the Rebels (12-3).
The Bulldogs trailed 42-37 at halftime, but used runs of 8-2 and 13-2 to rally from as much as nine down.
His drives led to free throws and the Bulldogs hit 7 of 8 during the second run, finally taking a lead on a layup in transition from Bost to make it 61-59. Bost hit 9 of 12 free throws and overall Mississippi State was 22 for 33 in the game, far outpacing Ole Miss, which attempted just 13.
Warren led Ole Miss with 15 points and Zach Graham added 14 points and seven rebounds. Terrance Henry had his second straight solid performance with 12 points, tying a career high, six rebounds and two blocks.
Ravern Johnson added 15 for the Bulldogs, who have won 10 of 11 games, and Kodi Augustus had 13 and 12 rebounds.
The Bulldogs opened the game with a 20-8 lead after hitting five of their first eight 3-point shots, but the Rebels began hitting 3-pointers and answered with a 27-8 run that included four 3s to take the halftime lead.
They quickly cooled off in the second half, though, as Mississippi State settled into a pattern. Augustus hit 4 of 4 free throws in the Bulldogs' first second-half run, then Bost hit 6 of 6 in the second.
While he was driving the lane, the Mississippi State defense settled into a 2-3 zone for the most part and Jarvis Varnado took over in the middle of the court.
Varnado wasn't much of an offensive presense with nine points, but he had 12 rebounds and six blocks. He was most effective in the final minutes of the game when he had one key block and kept Ole Miss out of the paint.
Mississippi State held Ole Miss to 40.3 percent shooting (29 of 72) and hit 45.5 percent of its own 3-pointers (10 of 22).
