Vandy upsets No. 4 Bulldogs
By By Austin Bishop
EMG regional sports director
ATLANTA Just when Mississippi State was about to shift into cruise control early in the second half against Vanderbilt on Friday night, the Bulldogs hit a speed bump.
In a matter of 30 seconds Vanderbilt used a three-pointer and two steals converted into baskets to hack an 11-point MSU lead to four. The Commodores took advantage of its new life to fight back for a 74-70 overtime win in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Basketball Tournament at the Georgia Dome.
Stansbury said Vanderbilt didn't do anything fancy, the Commodores just took advantage of a pair of Mississippi State lapses.
State had taken a 41-30 lead on a three-point basket by Bowers with 16:59 left in the game.
Corey Smith, who finished the game with 12 points and 10 rebounds for Vandy, cut it to 41-33 on a three-pointer with 16:18 to play. Mario Moore than came up with a steal that led to a basket by Julian Terrell to make it 41-35.
In a matter of seconds Moore came up with a second steal and converted the layup to cut it to four with 15:48 to play in the contest.
MSU battled back and built its lead back up to 54-47) but the momentum had clearly been broken.
The loss likely snuffs out any chance MSU had of earning a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament which begins next week. The Bulldogs say they will just have to regroup and move forward.
Vanderbilt moves on to play Florida a 75-73 OT winner over Alabama on Friday in the semifinals today at 2:15 p.m.
Despite letting the double-digit lead and momentum get away, the Bulldogs, now 25-3 for the season, had a chance to win the game in regulation.
After Matt Freije knocked down a free throw for Vandy to tie the game at 65, with 35 seconds left, the Bulldogs held the ball for one last attempt.
But Vandy's defense got MSU off track with about 10 seconds left and the best the Bulldogs could do was get a desperation three-point attempt by forward Lawrence Roberts that banged off the rim at the buzzer.
The Bulldogs led twice in overtime by one point on each occassion but a pair of free throws by Terrell and a basket by Freije put Vandy up 71-68 with 2:08 left in overtime. State could get no closer than one point the rest of the way.
After the Bulldogs cut it to 71-70 they had a chance to take the lead when Shane Power came up with a steal with 42 seconds left, but Bowers gave up a chance at a drive to the basket and had his pass in the lane intercepted.
From there the Commodores hit their free throws to ice the game.
Before Friday's game Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings had lamented about Vanderbilt's poor rebounding effort in a 72-69 loss to the Bulldogs in Nashville earlier this season.
He should have been pleased following the re-match. Not only did Vanderbilt outrebound MSU 45-43 for the game, but the Commodores claimed 22 offensive boards.
Stansbury noticed the rebounding numbers as well.
Smith had 10 rebounds to lead Vandy, with six of those coming on the offensive end. Dawid Przybyszewski had eight and Terrell seven.
Five Commodores scored in double figures for Vandy, with Mario Moore scoring 17, and Terrell chipping in with 16. Russell Lakey, and Freije had 13 each. Smith scored 12.
Shane Power, who was 4-for-6 from beyond the three-point line, led MSU with 16 points, and Winsome Frazier scored 15; Bowers 14; and Lawrence Roberts who injured his leg on an out-of-bounds tumble in the second half added 13.
