NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Charles Rhodes kept Mississippi State in the game. When his teammates finally started helping, the Bulldogs rallied past Oregon.
And it didn’t hurt that the Ducks suddenly lost their shooting touch.
Rhodes scored a career-high 34 points and the eighth-seeded Bulldogs overcame a 13-point, second-half deficit for a 76-69 victory over ninth-seeded Oregon on Friday night.
Mississippi State trailed 41-28 after Malik Hairston’s 3-pointer at the start of the second half, but Oregon didn’t make another 3 until the final seconds, finishing 9-for-38 and 2-of-21 after halftime.
Rhodes scored six straight points to start the Bulldogs’ rally — part of an 8-0 run that cut the lead to five. Mississippi State then fell behind by nine before Barry Stewart made a 3-pointer with just over 13 minutes remaining — the Bulldogs’ first of the game after 12 straight misses.
Until that shot, only four players had scored for Mississippi State. Stewart went on to make three more 3-pointers and finished with 16 points.
Stewart’s third 3 pulled the Bulldogs within one at 52-51. Rhodes then put Mississippi State (23-10) ahead with a dunk.
The Bulldogs finally took control with Stewart’s final 3-pointer, which gave them a 66-60 lead. He was so open in front of the Mississippi State bench that coach Rick Stansbury discretely pointed to him, and Jamont Gordon eventually threw him the ball.
Gordon had eight points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
The Bulldogs are making their fifth NCAA tournament appearance under Stansbury. He’s now taken them to the second round four times, but never further than that.
Mississippi State will face either top-seeded Memphis or 16th-seeded Texas-Arlington in the second round of the South Regional on Sunday. A matchup with Memphis would be the Bulldogs’ first against their regional rival since 1984.
Hairston scored 22 points for Oregon, but when the Ducks (18-14) stopped making outside shots, their offense went into disarray. That was the case for most of the second half.
Jarvis Varnado finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and four blocks for the Bulldogs. He’s now blocked 152 shots this season, five fewer than Shaquille O’Neal when Shaq set the Southeastern Conference record in 1991-92.
Seven of the Ducks’ first nine shots were 3-pointers as they kept their distance from Varnado. Oregon shot 3-pointers in transition and from its set offense, using a variety of perimeter screens to set them up. The Ducks made seven in the first half, including 5-foot-6 Tajuan Porter’s high-arching effort in the final seconds that gave Oregon a 38-28 halftime lead.
Local Sports
Rhodes rallies MSU over Oregon
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Lady Braves in title game
The South Jones Lady Braves will meet their old nemesis Wayne County here Friday night at 6 p.m. in the finals of the Region 5-5A basketball tournament. South Jones downed county rival West Jones while Wayne County came away with an impressive win over Stone County here Tuesday night.
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STATE CHAMPIONS
The Laurel Knight Hawks captured the Mississippi Christian Home Educators (MCHE) state basketball championship Monday in Jackson. In the final game of the double elimination tournament, the Knight Hawks defeated the two year reigning state champions, Jackson Victors, with a final score of 67-64.
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Northeast Jones grads doing well in sports world
Justin Cooley was approved Monday night by the Smith County school board as the new head football coach at Raleigh High School.
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No. 2 Bobcats ready for 2012 baseball season
What can they do for an encore?
That’s the question facing the 2012 Jones County Junior College Bobcats as they prepare for the Feb. 11 home opener against Mississippi Delta Community College. -
Hot-shooting Bobcats whip East Central, 92-62
The Jones County Junior College Bobcats shot over 52 percent from the floor and defeated East Central Community College 92-62 here Monday night in the Brackeen-Wood Physical Education Building.
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Second season begins tonight
The season ending district tournaments are beginning tonight throughout Mississippi.
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No. 10 Lady Bobcats have high expectations in 2012
The Jones County Junior College Lady Bobcats accomplished quite a bit on the softball diamond in 2011.
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NEJ’s McMillan signs with Holmes Bulldogs
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LHS’ Armstrong signs with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College:
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