Florida Gators
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Mississippi State
Mississippi State Holds Off Florida, 80-71
Thursday, March 5, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Senior Walter Hodge (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) scored a team-high 20 points, but Mississippi State got the best of Florida Wednesday, posting an 80-71 win on its home court at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville.
With his 20-point game, Hodge became the 44th member of UF's 1,000-point club, tallying 1,014 career points, after having 994 points entering the match-up with the Bulldogs.
With the loss, Florida moves to 21-9 overall, 8-7 in SEC play, while Mississippi State improves to 18-12 overall, 8-7 in conference games.
After 10 lead changes and a 7-0 surge by the Bulldogs at the end of the first half, MSU took a 42-33 lead into the locker room at the half after shooting 54.5 percent from the field, compared to the Gators' 43.5 percent in the first half of play.
The Bulldogs never trailed in the second half and led by as many as 16 points. Mississippi State rallied for 50.4 percent on the night and hit 10-of-20 treys (50.0 percent) to top Florida's 44.1 field-goal percentage and 28.0 (7-of-28) percent from behind the arc.
Sophomores Alex Tyus (St. Louis, Mo.) and Nick Calathes (Casselberry, Fla.) both scored in double-digits with 16 and 11 points, respectively, as did junior Dan Werner (Middletown, N.J.), who chipped in 10 points. Calathes rallied for a team-leading five assists, while Tyus led the Gators on the boards with seven rebounds.
Bulldog Ravern Johnson scored 15 points to lead Mississippi State in scoring.
The Gators will wrap up regular-season play Saturday, when they return to Gainesville to host the Kentucky Wildcats. Florida will honor its lone senior, Hodge, as part of Senior Day. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast live by CBS.
-UF-
