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No. 17 Mississippi State routs Troy

Dec 11, 2011 - 1:03 AM Starkville, MS (Sports Network) - Dee Bost poured in 28 points and dished out nine assists, leading No. 17 Mississippi State to a 106-68 rout of Troy on Saturday.

Arnett Moultrie had 20 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, while Renardo Sidney added 18 points and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs (9-1), who have won eight straight.

Jalen Steele donated 15 points on 5-of-7 from three-point range and Rodney Hood had 12 points and six assists in the win.

"It was good to see him getting his confidence back," Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said of Steele. "Before the season, I felt he was one guy that was searching for his shot and wasn't really comfortable. That is three or four games in a row he is starting to zone in. Now, when that ball leaves his hand, he expects it to go in, where a couple weeks ago, he was hoping it would go in."

Emil Jones paced the Trojans (4-4) with 15 points to go with six rebounds and four steals, while Will Weathers added 11 points and six assists and R.J. Scott chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds. The Trojans had their three-game winning streak halted.

Troy kept the game close early and trailed by five, 20-15, midway through the first half. But Mississippi State began to pull away, using a 17-4 run to push its lead to 37-19.

"We weren't answering from the beginning," Troy coach Don Maestri said. "We turned the ball over. The first three times down the court, we didn't even get a shot off and that kind of set the tone for the game."

A jumper by Scott finally stopped the run for Troy with under six minutes to play in the half.

But Mississippi State poured it on through the remainder of the first half, outscoring the Trojans 17-5 to carry a 54-26 cushion into the locker room.

In the second half, Mississippi State kept it up, building a 30-point lead at 63-33 with less than three minutes gone.

After Troy fought back a little with a burst, the Bulldogs responded with another impressive run following a media timeout. They outscored the Trojans 17-5 over a three-plus minute span to lead 82-48 with just around 10 minutes to go.

Game Notes

Mississippi State leads the all-time series between the teams, 9-0...The Bulldogs shot 56 percent from the floor and 51 percent from beyond the arc...Troy shot 32 percent from the floor and 22 percent from downtown...Mississippi State dished out 30 assists, to only 11 for Troy.