McRae scores 17 as Tennessee uses fast start to beat Mississippi State 69-53 in SEC tourney

Published January 13, 2015

Jordan McRae scored 17 points Thursday as fifth-seeded Tennessee defeated No. 13 seed Mississippi State 69-53 in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.

Tennessee (20-11) won for the ninth time in its last 10 games to advance to a Friday quarterfinal against No. 4 seed Alabama (20-11) in a matchup of NCAA tournament bubble teams. Tennessee and Alabama split their regular-season matchups, with the home team winning each time.

Trae Golden had 15 points and Jarnell Stokes and Quinton Chievous added 10 points apiece for Tennessee. Chievous' 10 points represented a career high for the redshirt freshman.

Craig Sword scored 19 points, Colin Borchert had 12 and Trivante Bloodman added 10 for Mississippi State (10-22). The Bulldogs entered the SEC tournament with only six scholarship players.

Mississippi State scored the first four points of the game, but Tennessee answered with a 12-0 run and never looked back.

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https://www.foxnews.com/sports/mcrae-scores-17-as-tennessee-uses-fast-start-to-beat-mississippi-state-69-53-in-sec-tourney