Mississippi State 73, LSU 67: Fred Thomas scored 18 points off the bench as the host Bulldogs knocked off the Tigers in SEC play.

Craig Sword scored 14 points and Gavin Ware added 12 points and 10 rebounds for Mississippi State (10-11, 3-5). I.J. Ready scored 12 points and Roquez Johnson contributed nine points and 10 rebounds as the Bulldogs defeated LSU for only the second time in the last seven attempts.

Jordan Mickey scored 25 points and corralled a career-high 20 rebounds for LSU (16-5, 5-3). Keith Hornsby added 15 points and Josh Gray had 13 for the Tigers, who shot just 37.7 percent from the field and 4-of-23 from 3-point range.

Mississippi State scored six straight points to take a 60-57 on Sword’s basket with 2:49 remaining and later moved ahead 65-59 on Ready’s fast-break hoop with 35.8 seconds to go. The Bulldogs protected their lead by making eight consecutive free throws over the final 26.2 seconds.

LSU trailed by as many as seven points in the first half when it shot just 29.4 percent from the field. Sword’s layup six minutes into the second half gave the Bulldogs a 44-40 edge before Hornsby scored five straight points to give the Tigers a one-point edge.

GAME NOTEBOOK: LSU collected 18 offensive rebounds while recording a 43-40 edge on the boards. … Bulldogs F Oliver Black had three steals and Mississippi State had 12 as a team. … Mickey has reached double digits on the boards in eight of the last 11 games and his 20-20 outing is the first by an LSU player since Shaquille O’Neal in 1992.