TAMPA, Fla., March 14 (UPI) -- Jarvis Varnado scored a team-high 19 points Saturday, helping Mississippi State upset 16th-ranked LSU 67-57 in an SEC Tournament semifinal in Tampa, Fla.
MSU took a 31-29 lead into the locker room, and then won the second half by a 36-28 margin.
A 10-0 run, led by Barry Stewart (17 points), gave the winners a 63-47 cushion with 2:37 remaining.
LSU hurt its chances by shooting a season-low 31 percent, and sinking only 4-of-16 3-point attempts.
In a balanced attack, Phil Turner, Ravern Johnson and Dee Bost each scored six points. Varnado added seven rebounds and seven blocked shots for the Bulldogs (22-12), who will attempt to win the crown for the first time since the in 2002-03 season when they play Tennessee Sunday.
Tasmin Mitchell's 15 points and five rebounds led LSU. Marcus Thornton scored 14 with six rebounds, and Garrett Temple scored seven with seven rebounds and three blocked shots for the Tigers (26-7), who have not won the event since 1980.
Wayne Chism had 27 points and nine rebounds to lead Tennessee to a 94-85 win over Auburn in Saturday's other SEC semifinal game.
Tyler Smith added 23 points for Tennessee (21-11), which reached its first SEC Tournament final since losing to Alabama in 1991.
Korvotney Barber had 24 points and nine rebounds for Auburn (22-11), which went into Saturday's semifinals after winning nine of its previous 10 games. Rasheem Barrett added 18 points and Tay Waller 17 for Auburn.
