Mississippi State 82, Auburn 74

[January 23, 2014]  STARKVILLE, Miss. — Misissippi State 82, Auburn 74: Roquez Johnson came off the bench to score 18 points as the host Bulldogs tamed the Tigers in an SEC clash.

Colin Borchert added 17 points for Mississippi State (13-5, 3-2 SEC), which shot 50 percent from the field. Fred Thomas recorded 14 points and three blocks while Craig Sword was held to six points on 1-of-6 shooting, but dished out a game-high eight assists to go along with six rebounds.

KT Harrell scored 24 points and Tahj Shamsid-Deen netted 17 for Auburn (8-8, 0-5), which dropped its 15th consecutive conference game. Asauhn Dixon-Tatum chipped in with 12 points and 13 rebounds while Allen Payne contributed 12 points and 10 boards for the Tigers, who finished 12-of-13 from the free throw line.

Auburn made seven of its first nine shots to take a 15-6 lead before Thomas knocked down a 3-pointer to trim the deficit to four midway through the first half. Borchert nailed three straight triples as Mississippi State closed out the opening period on a 20-4 run to take a 34-25 advantage into the break.

Gavin Ware hit back-to-back jumpers to give the Bulldogs a 51-41 lead before Harrell sparked an 8-0 spurt as the Tigers pulled to within two with a little over eight minutes remaining. Tyson Cunningham keyed a 7-0 burst to stretch Mississippi State's advantage to 66-58 with just over three minutes left and they held on to beat Auburn for the fifth straight time at Humphrey Coliseum.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Mississippi State G Trivante Bloodman scored 13 points and dished out five assists. … The Bulldogs' bench outscored Auburn's reserves 28-0. … Harrell has finished in double figures in all 16 games this season.

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