Ross Wooden
The Reflector
DeMarre Carroll tied a career high with 18 points in just 18 minutes off the bench, and a hot-shooting Vanderbilt team thumped Mississippi State 80-52 Saturday.
The Commodores built a 22-point halftime lead and kept the Bulldogs at bay, leading by at least 17 the entire second half.
Charles Rhodes scored 19 to lead Mississippi State, which has lost four straight games for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
Shan Foster and Derrick Byars each scored 13 and Dan Cage added 11, as Vanderbilt (12-4, 3-2) shot 58 percent from the floor. Forward Julian Terrell had nine rebounds, eight assists, three blocked shots and two steals.
Mississippi State had not allowed an opponent to shoot more than 50 percent this season, but the 2-3 zone defense proved ineffective, and Vanderbilt shot 63 percent in the first half.
Vanderbilt initially led 11-10 with 14:51 left in the first half, then outscored the Bulldogs 22-7 over the next six minutes to take a 33-17 lead. Foster had seven points during the run. The Commodores had 16 assists on 17 baskets in the first half.
Mississippi State, which shot 35 percent for the game, had a five-game regular season winning streak against Vanderbilt snapped.
Mississippi State 57, LSU 71
Mississippi State cut an 11-point halftime deficit to seven but ultimately fell to a much taller and faster LSU team, 71-57, at home Wednesday.
The Bulldogs used an 8-0 run, capped off by a Charles Rhodes jump shot, to make it 54-47 with 9:02 remaining in the game, but a monster dunk from LSU freshman Tyrus Thomas would hurt the Bulldogs’ momentum and help the Tigers build the lead back up to double-digits.
Jamont Gordon, starting at point guard, had 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for Mississippi State but also had eight turnovers in the Bulldogs’ third-straight SEC loss.
Jamall Edmondson, whose injured groin limited his minutes, scored 15 points off the bench. Rhodes added 14 points and nine rebounds.
Glen Davis, who entered the game as the SEC’s leading scorer, recorded nine of the Tigers’ first 12 points and finished with a game-high 17. Darrel Mitchell added 15 points and Thomas had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds for LSU (11-5, 3-0), including six blocks.
The dismissals of forwards Walter Sharpe and Jerrell Houston earlier in the week depleted a young Bulldog bench. Edmondson was the only non-starter to find the scoreboard, as only five different Bulldogs scored in the game.
The Tigers, the SEC’s best rebounding team with 45 per contest, were out-boarded by Mississippi State 40-33.

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True freshman Jamont Godon, State's leading scorer, shots over LSU defender Garrett Temple in MSU's 71-57 loss to the Tigers Wednesday.