Bost, Bulldogs edge Vandy
Last-minute layup lifts Mississippi State in OT (18) MISSISSIPPI STATE 78, VANDERBILT 77 (OT)
NASHVILLE — Dee Bost scored on a layup with 51.8 seconds left in overtime and No. 18 Mississippi State edged Vanderbilt 78-77 on Saturday night, snapping the Commodores’ eight-game winning streak.
The Bulldogs (16-4, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) won in Memorial Gym for the first time since 2004 and snapped a three -game skid in Nashville.
“They had a taller guy guarding me, and we set it up perfectly so when I backdoored, I had a wide - open layup,” Bost said.
Vanderbilt (14-5, 4-1) missed three shots after Bost’s layup, the last a 3-point attempt by John Jenkins that hit the front of the rim just before the buzzer.
Bost scored 24 points, reserve Jalen Steele added 15, and former RaleighEgypt standout Arnett Moultrie had his 11th double - double with 21 points and 14 rebounds.
Jenkins led Vanderbilt with 21 points, Jeffery Taylor had 19, and Festus Ezeli had 12 points and 14 rebounds. Lance Goulbourne added 12 points with a career-high four 3-pointers.
The teams put on a show from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs hit nine of 10 after halftime, and Vanderbilt was 14 of 27 overall.
“So no wonder why you lose the game,” Vandy coach Kevin Stallings said. “We fell in love with the 3-point shot. We made it in the first half. I think we thought it was going to be easy, perhaps. We came out the start of the second half and weren’t ready to go.”
Each team also took turns blowing leads. Vanderbilt was up 39-26 late in the first half, while Mississippi State was ahead 63-53 with 7:50 left and had a 6862 lead with 1:56 remaining in regulation after Moultrie scored.
Vanderbilt rallied, with Jenkins hitting his fifth 3-pointer with 32.8 seconds left to tie it at 68.
Rodney Hood missed a jumper for the Bulldogs then Renardo Sidney tried to put it back up and clanked a short jumper off the left side of the rim before Dai-jon Parker got the rebound for Vanderbilt with 1.3 seconds left. Vandy had the last shot, with Brad Tinsley tossing the ball in to Ezeli, who missed a jumper in the lane to send it into overtime.
Vanderbilt led twice in the extra period, the last on a 3-pointer by Goulbourne with 1:09 remaining at 77-76. Bost then scored, and Vanderbilt couldn’t take advantage when both Bost and Moultrie missed the front end of one - and- ones down the stretch. Tinsley missed from long range, then drove to the basket, with his layup hitting off the rim.
After Moultrie’s miss, Vanderbilt had 3.4 seconds left and the length of the court to go. Goulbourne threw the ball to Ezeli, who caught it in midair and threw it to Jenkins, but the nation’s 3-point leader came up short.