Gordon, coming off a 1-of-14 shooting performance versus South Alabama Saturday, knocked down 9-of-14 shots in Wednesday's win, along with a 5-of-7 mark from behind the arc. Sophomore Jarvis Varnado blocked an MSU record 10 shots against South Alabama and nearly tied the record Wednesday with nine swats against the Lions. State's Charles Rhodes notched his third double-double of the year, scoring 14 points and claiming a game-high 10 rebounds. Sophomore Barry Stewart posted 10 points to round out the four Bulldogs in double figures.
Stansbury tied Williams for the prestigious title with 191 career wins (against only 109 losses), all of his head-coaching experience being at Mississippi State.
After owning a commanding 40-22 lead at the half, the Bulldogs would dominate the early minutes of the second stanza by jumping out to a 20-4 run to extend their lead to 60-29 with 15:21 remaining. Much of MSU's bench would then enter the floor and help wrap up the game. Ravern Johnson would score a season-high six points on 3-of-5 shooting from the floor.
Shawn Deadwiler had 11 points to lead LMU's cause. Brad Sweezy and Jon Ziri added 10 each for the Lions, who were limited to just 33 percent shooting from the floor by State.
The Bulldogs, who own a plus-6.1 rebounding margin on the year, outrebounded the Lions 46-32 on the night. MSU continues to rank second in the Southeastern Conference and in the top 10 in the nation in blocks per game with tonight’s 12. Varnado currently ranks first in the league and third in the nation with 5.1 blocks per game.
Mississippi State now travels to Corpus Christi, Texas, to take on the the Islanders of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Friday evening. Tipoff at the American Bank Center is set for 7 p.m. CT, and the second-ever matchup between the two teams will be televised regionally by CSS.