After giving up a large lead and almost losing to LSU last Saturday, MSU head coach Rick Stansbury was determined not to let the same thing happen at home against Vanderbilt.”LSU came back on us, so coach told us we had to just put our foot down and stomp them on down to the ground,” guard Jamont Gordon said. “We came out and did just that.”
Gordon’s Bulldogs downed the 17th-ranked Commodores 83-70 Wednesday night in front of 8,156 excited fans at Humphrey Coliseum, ending a 13-game skid for MSU against ranked opponents.
The Bulldogs (16-10, 7-6) have now won four in a row and five of their last six SEC games.
“We’ve been able to score for a while,” Stansbury said, “but the thing I think we are getting much better at is defense. I thought we guarded them as well tonight as they could be guarded.”
The win, coupled with Alabama’s overtime loss to Tennessee, makes for a two-way tie between State and Ole Miss atop the Southeastern Conference Western Division standings.
“This team has done it the hard way,” Stansbury said. “We lost at home to Florida and then South Carolina and then turned around and had that Alabama loss. It put our backs against the wall.”
Gordon scored 15 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in the game to earn his first career triple-double.
Gordon becomes only the second player in school history to post a triple-double, the first being Lawrence Roberts in 2004 with an 18 point, 11 rebound, 12 assist output against Nicholls State.
“In nine games that is 44 assists and 16 turnovers for him,” Stansbury said. “I’m not very good at math, but I will take that from any point guard.”
MSU led from the opening tip and never lost their hot-shooting edge, going 58 percent from the floor in the game.
“If they make shots like that and play with that type of athleticism, it makes it very difficult for them to be beaten,” Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings said. “They were just quicker at everything they did. They played every facet of the game close to their full potential.”
Vanderbilt could not find a rhythm in the opening half, with stars Derrick Byars and Shan Foster combining for five points at the break.
“When you guard those two guys like that you’ve got a chance to beat Vanderbilt every night,” Stansbury said. “Those guys score a lot of points for them.”
Guard Dan Cage led all Commodores with 12 points.
Charles Rhodes had a game-high 23 points and 8 boards, while senior Dietric Slater had a season high with 18 points.
Sophomore Reginald Delk also chipped in 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
With only three games remaining and a chance to finish anywhere from first to fifth in the SEC West, every game becomes huge as the Bulldogs make a final push for the NCAA tournament.
Gordon said the team is watching the standings and is aware of what they have to do to have a chance to extend their season. However, that’s not where their focus is.
“We’re not worrying about the next two games or three games,” Gordon said. “We’re just focusing on going to Georgia.