No. 19 Vandy rallies for 81-74 win over MSU
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Jeffery Taylor scored 25 points and John Jenkins added 21 as No. 19 Vanderbilt rallied for an 81-74 victory over Mississippi State on Thursday night.
The Commodores (15-4, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) won at Humphrey Coliseum for the first time since 1993, breaking a streak of eight straight losses in Starkville. Vanderbilt trailed by as many as nine points, but used a 12-0 run late in the second half to recover for its third straight victory.
Festus Ezeli added 14 points for Vanderbilt while Lance Goulbourne had nine points and 12 rebounds.
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Vanderbilt led 77-74 with 20 seconds remaining when Taylor stole the ball in the press and dunked for the clinching basket. The 6-foot-7 junior was 9 of 18 from the field and had five rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Jenkins made 9 of 9 free throws, including seven during Vanderbilt's crucial 12-0 run that turned a 66-59 deficit into a 71-66 lead.
Ravern Johnson scored 19 points and Dee Bost added 18 for the Bulldogs (10-9, 2-3), who shot 26 of 58 (44.8 percent) from the field. Mississippi State struggled from 3-point range, making just 8 of 29 (27.6 percent).
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Renardo Sidney, MSU's best post player, battled foul trouble for most of the game. The 6-10, 275-pound sophomore finished with six points and five rebounds in just 13 minutes.
The Bulldogs used an 8-0 run to take a 61-53 lead with 11:06 remaining, but couldn't capitalize on the momentum, as Vanderbilt never let its deficit get bigger than nine points.
Mississippi State led 37-33 at halftime, holding Vanderbilt to 35.3 percent shooting. Bost and Johnson both scored 10 points in the first half, which offset Sidney's foul trouble.