National Basketball Association
Mississippi St. 60, South Carolina 58
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 5, 2011
Where: Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville, Mississippi
Officials:
# John Hampton, # Antinio Petty, # Doug Shows
Attendance:
7955
By SportsDirect Inc.
South Carolina's Bruce Ellington missed two 3-pointers that would have put the Gamecocks ahead in the final 14 seconds, and Mississippi State survived a late charge for a 60-58 home victory Saturday.
Ravern Johnson scored a game-high 21 points, and Kodi Augustus (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Renardo Sidney (13 points, 11 rebounds) posted double-doubles for Mississippi State, which clinched the No. 2 seed from the Western Division for next week's SEC Tournament in Atlanta.
The Bulldogs (17-13, 9-7 SEC) led throughout and were up by 13 with 5:30 left, but the Gamecocks reeled off a 14-2 run to pull within 55-54.
South Carolina (14-15, 5-11 SEC) had a shot at taking its first lead when Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury was called for a technical foul with 26 seconds left for running onto the court while trying to call timeout.
South Carolina's Malik Cooke made both free throws to pull the Gamecocks within 59-58, but Ellington misfired on a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left and missed another 3 at the buzzer.
The Bulldogs will have a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament and will play their first game at 3:30 p.m., Friday in the quarterfinals. South Carolina will be the No. 6 seed from the Eastern Division and face either Arkansas or Mississippi in the first round at 3:30 p.m., Thursday.
Top Game Performances
South Carolina |
|
Mississippi St. |
Bruce Ellington 15 |
Scoring |
Ravern Johnson 21 |
Ramon Galloway 3 |
Assists |
Dee Bost 8 |
Sam Muldrow 7 |
Rebounds |
Renardo Sidney 12 |
Malik Cooke 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Renardo Sidney 5 |
Malik Cooke 2 |
Steals |
Dee Bost 2 |
Damontre Harris 1 |
Blocks |
Dee Bost 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
South Carolina
|
58 |
35.9 |
5-18 |
7-8 |
9 |
33 |
3 |
9 |
|
Mississippi St.
|
60 |
37.3 |
11-26 |
11-15 |
14 |
35 |
5 |
6 |
|