<p class="">from mstateathletics.com
TAMPA, Fla. - Mississippi State's Jarvis Varnado and the rest of his Bulldog teammates ushered in the postseason on a very strong note Thursday afternoon.</p> <p class="">Varnado recorded his 15th career double-double as MSU rolled over Georgia 79-60 in a Southeastern Conference Tournament first-round game played at St. Pete Times Forum.</p> <p class="">The nation's premier shot blocker, Varnado scored 14 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, while adding three blocks to that ledger. Kodi Augustus also added a career-high 19 points off the bench. The Bulldogs connected for nine 3-point baskets. It all added up to an easy win for the maroon and white.</p> <p class="">MSU (20-12), the Western Division third seed, will now meet South Carolina (21-8), the Eastern Division second seed, in a tournament quarterfinal matchup at 2:15 p.m. CT Friday. That contest will be televised regionally by Raycom Sports and shown in selected markets by Fox Sports Net and Sun Sports.</p> <p class="">Georgia, the Eastern Division six seed, finishes the season at 12-20.</p> <p class="">During the regular season, MSU defeated South Carolina 75-70 on Feb. 18 in the Humphrey Coliseum. While the Bulldogs look for a season sweep of USC, they already accomplished the same feat versus Georgia, closing the deal after a 67-61 win on Jan. 24 in Athens.</p> <p class="">The tournament rematch had fewer tense moments, as MSU won for the fourth time in its last five conference tournament openers. MSU also made amends for a loss to Georgia in the semifinal round of last year's conference tournament.</p> <p class="">MSU used a 10-0 run in the final minutes of the first half to open up a comfortable lead. A 3-pointer by Ravern Johnson gave MSU a 30-17 advantage with 5:49 left in the half. MSU then used an 8-3 run to ease out to a 40-26 lead at halftime.</p> <p class="">A 3-pointer by UGA's Terrance Woodbury then cut the deficit to 47-42 with 15:13 left in the contest. Back-to-back 3-point baskets by Barry Stewart and Augustus sparked a 10-0 run as the maroon and white clad Bulldogs moved back out of danger.</p> <p class="">For the contest, MSU hit 28 of 55 shots from the field (50.9 percent), 9 of 24 shots from 3-point range (37.5 percent) and 14 of 18 shots from the foul line (77.8 percent). Georgia hit 26 of 62 shots from the field (41.9 percent), 7 of 19 shots from 3-point range (36.8 percent) and 1 of 4 shots from the foul line (25 percent).</p> <p class="">Ravern Johnson had 12 points for MSU, including three 3-point baskets. Dee Bost added a team-high seven rebounds.</p> <p class="">Georgia received 14 points from Terrance Woodbury and 12 points from Trey Thompkins.
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TAMPA, Fla. - Mississippi State's Jarvis Varnado and the rest of his Bulldog teammates ushered in the postseason on a very strong note Thursday afternoon.</p> <p class="">Varnado recorded his 15th career double-double as MSU rolled over Georgia 79-60 in a Southeastern Conference Tournament first-round game played at St. Pete Times Forum.</p> <p class="">The nation's premier shot blocker, Varnado scored 14 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, while adding three blocks to that ledger. Kodi Augustus also added a career-high 19 points off the bench. The Bulldogs connected for nine 3-point baskets. It all added up to an easy win for the maroon and white.</p> <p class="">MSU (20-12), the Western Division third seed, will now meet South Carolina (21-8), the Eastern Division second seed, in a tournament quarterfinal matchup at 2:15 p.m. CT Friday. That contest will be televised regionally by Raycom Sports and shown in selected markets by Fox Sports Net and Sun Sports.</p> <p class="">Georgia, the Eastern Division six seed, finishes the season at 12-20.</p> <p class="">During the regular season, MSU defeated South Carolina 75-70 on Feb. 18 in the Humphrey Coliseum. While the Bulldogs look for a season sweep of USC, they already accomplished the same feat versus Georgia, closing the deal after a 67-61 win on Jan. 24 in Athens.</p> <p class="">The tournament rematch had fewer tense moments, as MSU won for the fourth time in its last five conference tournament openers. MSU also made amends for a loss to Georgia in the semifinal round of last year's conference tournament.</p> <p class="">MSU used a 10-0 run in the final minutes of the first half to open up a comfortable lead. A 3-pointer by Ravern Johnson gave MSU a 30-17 advantage with 5:49 left in the half. MSU then used an 8-3 run to ease out to a 40-26 lead at halftime.</p> <p class="">A 3-pointer by UGA's Terrance Woodbury then cut the deficit to 47-42 with 15:13 left in the contest. Back-to-back 3-point baskets by Barry Stewart and Augustus sparked a 10-0 run as the maroon and white clad Bulldogs moved back out of danger.</p> <p class="">For the contest, MSU hit 28 of 55 shots from the field (50.9 percent), 9 of 24 shots from 3-point range (37.5 percent) and 14 of 18 shots from the foul line (77.8 percent). Georgia hit 26 of 62 shots from the field (41.9 percent), 7 of 19 shots from 3-point range (36.8 percent) and 1 of 4 shots from the foul line (25 percent).</p> <p class="">Ravern Johnson had 12 points for MSU, including three 3-point baskets. Dee Bost added a team-high seven rebounds.</p> <p class="">Georgia received 14 points from Terrance Woodbury and 12 points from Trey Thompkins.
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