National Basketball Association
Mississippi St. 71, South Florida 66
When: 8:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 22, 2013
Where: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Officials:
# Pat Boeh, # Rod Dixon, # Marques Pettigrew
Attendance:
1530
By SportsDirect Inc.
Mississippi State 71, South Florida 66: Fred Thomas had 14 points and Gavin Ware recorded 10 points and 15 rebounds as the Bulldogs edged the Bulls at the Las Vegas Classic.
Mississippi State (9-2) won its fourth in a row thanks in large part to Thomas, who made four 3-pointers, and Ware, who notched his fourth double-double of the season. The Bulldogs, who will face UNLV in Monday's championship game, forced 18 turnovers and held a slight 32-31 rebounding advantage.
Victor Rudd scored 17 points for South Florida (8-3), which had won four straight games and will meet Santa Clara in Monday's consolation game. Chris Perry chipped in 14 points and nine rebounds.
Following a first half in which Mississippi State outscored South Florida 38-35, the Bulls rallied to take the lead on Javontae Hawkins' dunk with 15:41 to play. The Bulldogs then took control for a stretch en route to a 58-52 lead with under 10 minutes left.
Corey Allen Jr.'s two free throws got South Florida within 67-64 with 1:05 remaining and after Mississippi State's Colin Borchert made 1-of-2, Perry knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a two-point game. Thomas converted a pair of foul shots before the Bulls came up empty on their next possession to essentially seal their fate.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Allen finished with 16 points and four assists before fouling out. ... In addition to Thomas and Ware, three other players scored in double figures for Mississippi State - Borchert (11), Roquez Johnson (10) and Craig Sword (10). ... IJ Ready had a game-high seven assists for the Bulldogs.
Top Game Performances
South Florida |
|
Mississippi St. |
Victor Rudd 17 |
Scoring |
Fred Thomas 14 |
Corey Allen Jr. 4 |
Assists |
I.J. Ready 7 |
Victor Rudd 11 |
Rebounds |
Gavin Ware 15 |
Corey Allen Jr. 8 |
Free Throws Made |
Colin Borchert 6 |
Corey Allen Jr. 2 |
Steals |
Craig Sword 3 |
Victor Rudd 2 |
Blocks |
Colin Borchert 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
South Florida
|
66 |
46.2 |
6-15 |
12-15 |
11 |
30 |
4 |
3 |
18 |
Mississippi St.
|
71 |
45.5 |
5-14 |
16-25 |
12 |
28 |
1 |
10 |
13 |