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Take A Bow, Tampa

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By IRA KAUFMAN

ikaufman@tampatrib.com

Published: March 16, 2009

The local hospitality, the facility and the weather combined to make the SEC Tournament a success for visitors to the Tampa Bay area.

"This whole week has been terrific," said Mark Womack, executive associate commissioner of the Southeastern Conference. "This is a wonderful building and I think all the players enjoyed the atmosphere. Hotels are in close proximity, the weather was great ... we couldn't have asked for anything more."

Two years after playing host to the ACC Tournament, Tampa served as the backdrop for the 12-team SEC event as 132,181 fans attended the six sessions.

"I got here Tuesday night and had a great time all week," said Lynda Moore of Starkville, Miss., who celebrated Sunday's Bulldogs victory. "People here were very nice and I thought the crowds were definitely into the games. As far as I'm concerned, they can have the SEC Tournament here every year."

Sunday's crowd of 10,093 included Lightning interim coach Rick Tocchet and Lightning winger Marty St. Louis.

Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl lauded the Forum, adding "the city of Tampa did an amazing job."

Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury, who had some initial reservations about staging the event here, admitted he was won over.

"I'd like to thank Tampa - what a great place to host this SEC Tournament," Stansbury said. "The facility was great, the weather was absolutely beautiful and the experience couldn't have been any better."

ATTENDANCE

Here are the official attendance figures per session for the 2009 SEC Tournament:

He didn't land a spot on the all-tournament team, but don't overlook the contributions of Phil Turner.

The versatile 6-foot-3 sophomore guard led the Bulldogs with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds Sunday in 24 effective minutes while hounding all-SEC forward Tyler Smith into a forgettable effort.

"You need a guy that can do it all," teammate Barry Stewart said. "Phil can shoot and he can defend. He's the glue out there. He gives you a bunch of energy and he's intense."

Smith had scored 45 points in his previous two SEC Tournament games, but he shot 2-for-14 from the field and finished with a frustrating 12 points, despite boasting a 4-inch height advantage over Turner.

Turner also came up big on the offensive end in the final two minutes with a 3-pointer and four free throws as the Bulldogs snapped a five-game losing streak to the Vols.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State, MVP

Wayne Chism, Tennessee

Tyler Smith, Tennessee

Barry Stewart, Mississippi State

Korvotney Barber, Auburn

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