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Tuesday, Feb. 29 9:00pm ET
Wildcats keep SEC East hopes alive | |||||
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STARKVILLE, Miss (AP) -- A few missed 3-pointers doesn't even faze Kentucky anymore. The Wildcats have grown accustomed to shooting poorly and winning. Jamaal Magloire and Tayshaun Prince each scored 16 points as Kentucky (No. 18 ESPN/USA Today, No. 22 AP) overcame another cold performance from behind the 3-point arc to defeat Mississippi State 73-61 Tuesday night.
"You are going to have nights when you don't shoot the ball well and we've had a few of those," said Kentucky coach Tubby Smith, whose team was 5-of-27 from 3-point range. "It never bothered us. I feel comfortable that we're getting good shots, but they just haven't seemed to drop for us." Kentucky is last in the Southeastern Conference in 3-point shooting percentage, making less than 29 percent from behind the arc this season. Kentucky missed its first 11 3-pointers and was 2-of-17 in the first half. But as they have done all season, the Wildcats picked up the slack on the defensive end. Kentucky held Mississippi State to 36 percent shooting. Opponents are shooting barely 40 percent against the Wildcats on the season. "When you can defend a team on the road and force them to shoot the way they shot tonight," Smith said, "it tells that we have a very sound, fundamental defense. The guys believe in their defense and take a lot of pride in it." Magloire also had nine rebounds, falling just short of his fourth straight double-double. The Kentucky center made 7-of-12 shots from the floor. As poor as the Wildcats (21-8, 11-4 SEC) were from the outside, they were almost unstoppable when they went inside. Kentucky was 22-of-32 from 2-point range. "We understood that we could go down low and expose them a little bit," Magloire said. "I was able to capitalize and make big plays." Antonio Jackson and Michael Gholar led Mississippi State (13-15, 4-11) with 12 points each. Tang Hamilton had 11 for the Bulldogs. The win kept Kentucky in contention for the SEC title, the top seed in the Eastern Division and a bye in the first round of the SEC tournament. The Wildcats are a half game behind Florida in the SEC East and play host to the Gators on Saturday. Magloire said earning a bye in next week's SEC tournament in Atlanta is key if the Wildcats are going to defend their title. "The league is so physical that playing three games is definitely better than playing four," said Magloire, who became the 47th player in Kentucky history to score 1,000 career points. "I think we have a good chance to do that." Kentucky has won four straight against Mississippi State, five straight at Starkville, and nine of 11 overall against the Bulldogs. Mississippi State has lost seven of its last eight overall. After their miserable shooting first half, the Wildcats opened the second by going inside to Magloire. Magloire scored eight of Kentucky's first 13 second-half points as the Wildcats opened a 47-35 lead with 14:52 to play. "Magloire frustrated us all night long," Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said. "It seemed like every time we would try to get a stop, they would go to him and he'd make a basket." Marvin Stone's short jumper gave Kentucky it biggest lead of the game, 59-45 with 7:35 left. Keith Bogans had 13 points for Kentucky and Desmond Allison added 12. Neither team could find the range from behind the 3-point arc in the first half, as the Wildcats and Bulldogs combined to miss the first 17 3-pointers of the game. | ALSO SEE Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
AUDIO/VIDEO   Kentucky's Tayshaun Prince takes the Desmond Allison pass down the lane for the jam.avi: 525 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 The Bulldogs' Tang Hamilton gets the hoop on the break.avi: 523 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 The Wildcats' Saul Smith finds Tayshaun Prince in the lane for the layup.avi: 475 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 | |||||
