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 The Senior Night victory allowed Vanderbilt (25-5, 10-5) to finish unbeaten at home this season and kept alive its chances at a first-round bye in the Southeastern Conference tournament starting next week in Atlanta.
The Commodores finished 19-0 in Memorial Gym where they have won 32 of 33 games.
Jamont Gordon had 24 points for the Bulldogs (20-9, 11-4), who clinched the SEC West title last weekend with a win at Florida. Mississippi State, which had a three-game winning streak snapped, needed a win to have any chance at winning the overall league title.
A.J. Ogilvy had 16 points and Alex Gordon added 14 for Vanderbilt, which trailed most of the game and even through most of overtime.
Gordon had to leave with 29 seconds left in overtime because of cramps.
Charles Rhodes had 22 points for the Bulldogs, while Jarvis Varnardo added 16 and Barry Stewart 10.
Foster tied for the second-best scoring performance in Vanderbilt history, matching Bo Wyenandt's 42 against Alabama on Feb. 20, 1967. His game-winning shot left Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings in tears for the winningest group of seniors in school history with 84 victories.
It didn't look like Foster had the touch as he missed his first six 3s.
With 10:43 left in regulation, he finally got going and didn't miss from outside the arc the rest of the way even with at least one defender on each attempt. Foster's 3 with 14.5 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 74.
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Gordon, who scored the Bulldogs' final five points of regulation, missed the second free throw with 24.3 seconds left that could have made it a four-point game. He tried to win the game in the final seconds but missed on a drive to the basket, and a final attempt hit off the rim at the buzzer.
In overtime, Ben Hansbrough hit his first shot of the game with 4:21 to go, putting the Bulldogs ahead 77-74.
The Bulldogs led 84-80 with 36.2 seconds left on another 3 by Hansbrough. But Foster, who scored the final eight points for Vandy, answered with a 3 with 29.6 seconds to go. Gordon had to be carried off the court by two teammates following a delay of a few minutes.
Hansbrough hit the first of two free throws with 29.6 seconds left. Needing only a 3 to win, the Commodores ran down the clock and got the ball to Foster who hit his ninth and final 3 for the win.
Stewart threw up a desperation shot that came nowhere near the rim at the buzzer.
Mississippi State led by as many as eight points but the Bulldogs couldn't hold the lead between Foster's shooting and them going 15-of-28 at the free throw line.
[Associated Press; By TERESA M. WALKER]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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