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MISSISSIPPI ST. 79, GEORGIA 60

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The Tampa Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 13, 2009

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Mississippi State sophomore forward Kodi Augustus started the first nine games of this season before being relegated to bench-warming duty.

However, the splinters Augustus acquired while sitting so much might have given him more motivation than anyone expected.

Augustus scored a game-high 19 points off the bench to lead Mississippi State (20-12) to a 19-point victory against Georgia (12-20). MSU advanced to play against South Carolina today.

"No question his effort has gotten better," Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said. "It starts mentally with him. ... Some kids respond differently than other kids, but it has come on now that he wants the opportunity to play, and it came on in practice, not in the game."

MAKE IT RAIN

There were few things Mississippi State and Georgia's offense had in common, but one major similarity was a willingness to throw up shots from behind the arc.

The teams combined for 43 3-point attempts during their opening-round contest. Mississippi State made nine of 24 long-distance shots, while Georgia connected on seven of 19.

KEY STRETCH

Mississippi State led 45-30 before Georgia narrowed the gap to 47-42 with the help of a 9-0 run. However, that was the closest Georgia came during the second half.

Mississippi State took over and scored 10 consecutive points, including two clutch 3-pointers by Barry Stewart and Augustus, and proceeded to blowout Georgia.

GEORGIA'S MISERY ENDS

Georgia made a miracle run to last year's NCAA Tournament, but its biggest accomplishment was just making it through this season.

The Bulldogs fired Dennis Felton as coach on Jan. 29, replacing him with interim coach Pete Herrmann. Georgia was winless in its first five SEC games when Felton was fired after a loss at Florida, but Herrmann led his team to wins against Florida, Vanderbilt and Kentucky during the Wildcats' Senior Night.

Georgia advanced to last year's NCAA Tournament by winning four games in three days, and hoped for the same success this year, but finished 12-20 after Thursday's loss.

"You can be in North Carolina and make it all the way to the national championship and win and you're not going to have a season quite like what we had," Georgia guard Corey Butler said. "You're not going to have a learning experience and growing experience like what we had this year, so I take it as a learning experience, growing experience.

"Now I know there is nothing that can stop me from doing anything I want to do in this world, so I thank Coach Herrmann for stepping in and transitioning us into this season and for the six-plus weeks he had with us. It's been tremendous, and I love you, Coach."

Anwar S. Richardson

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