Mississippi State 76, DePaul 45: Jarvis Varnado Leads Balanced Bulldogs In Rout

Tampa, FL (Sports Network) – Ravern Johnson scored 14 points and the Mississippi State Bulldogs coasted past the DePaul Blue Demons, 76-45, as part of the Big East/SEC Invitational at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa.

Romero Osby added 13 points and seven rebounds for MSU (6-2), which stretched its winning streak to three games. Jarvis Varnado notched a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds, and Barry Stewart also finished with 12 points. Kodi Augustus rounded out the double-digit Bulldog scorers with 11 points.

Erick Wallace paced DePaul (5-3) in defeat with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Will Walker chipped in with 12 points.

MSU knocked down 9-of-18 long-range attempts in the first half and used a late 15-0 run to open a commanding 35-15 lead at the break.

The Bulldogs shot 43.3 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes and that was plenty for them to walk away with the 31-point victory.

On the night, MSU finished 12-of-29 from three-point distance and it also controlled the boards, 49-36. The Bulldogs were tenacious on defense as well, holding DePaul to a dismal 28.1 percent shooting performance from the floor.

- Via Sports Network