STARKVILLE, Miss., Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Dee Bost stole the ball with 9 seconds left Thursday, leading to a dunk that wrapped up a 62-58 win for No. 20 Mississippi State over Tennessee.
The Bulldogs led by 10 midway through the second half but the advantage was trimmed to two when Renaldo Woolridge hit a 3-pointer for the Volunteers with 50 seconds left.
Bost then turned the ball over, giving Tennessee a chance to force overtime or pull off the upset with a long-range shot.
After a timeout, however, Bost stole the ball from Tennessee's Trae Golden and went the distance for the dunk that kept the Bulldogs from losing two in a row. Mississippi State dropped its Southeastern Conference opener at Arkansas Saturday.
Bost, Arnett Moultrie and Renardo Sidney all scored 13 points for the Bulldogs (14-3, 1-1 SEC), but Bost hit only 3-of-13 shots from the field.
Golden had 20 points for the Volunteers (8-8, 1-1), who were coming off a victory over nationally ranked Florida.
