State takes consolation game, 69-55

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas - Sophomore point guard Dee Bost tied career highs with 25 points and six made treys to help the Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-2) to a 69-55 victory against the Old Dominion Monarchs (4-2) Saturday afternoon. With the win, MSU won the consolation game of the South Padre Island Invitational.

Bost 6-of-9 three-point attempts, grabbed four rebounds and handed out four assists.

After dislocating his finger twice in the first half, all-SEC senior Jarvis Varnado saw just 19 minutes of action but shot 6-of-7 from the field to score 15 points and claim six rebounds. Fellow senior Barry Stewart and junior Kodi Augustus each contributed 10 points to wrap up four Bulldogs in double digits.

Senior forward Gerald Lee led ODU with 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting.

The Monarchs scored the game's first four points and the Bulldogs saw a back-and-forth first half. State built a 30-18 lead before ODU pulled the lead to 36-28 by halftime.

Despite seeing its lead drop to just 50-47 with 10:47 remaining, Mississippi State never trailed in the second half. MSU reeled off a 14-3 run and led 64-50 with under a minute to go.

"I was worried that yesterday's loss would cost us the game today," MSU coach Rick Stansbury said. "After losing Varnado within the first 30 seconds of the game, we made some substitutions and those guys stepped up and did a good job."

Mississippi State returns to action Saturday at 1 p.m. in Humphrey Coliseum against St. Bonaventure.