Mississippi State vs Georgia final score: Bulldogs take care of business with 66-45 win

Georgia took care of business at home as they improve to 11-6 in the conference with a 66-45 win over Mississippi State at Stegeman Coliseum.

The Bulldogs got off to a slow start on Wednesday but Mississippi State was no match once they found their footing. Marcus Thornton gave them a lift early and finished with 13 points and six rebounds including a pair of three-pointers. Charles Mann found Kenny Gaines on a lob at the halftime buzzer to put the Bulldogs up 37-24. Georgia would push the lead up to as many as 24 in the second half before closing out the victory.

Kenny Gaines led the Bulldogs with 14 points while Charles Mann finished with 10 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Georgia converted on 43 percent of their field goal attempts and was 7-19 from beyond-the-arc. The Bulldogs limited Mississippi State to just 34 percent shooting and shut them out from long range where they went 0-15. Craig Sword and Roquez Johnson finished with nine points each while Fred Thomas added eight.

With the win Georgia moves a step closer to nailing down a Top 4 seed in the SEC Tournament. The Bulldogs can clinch with a win at LSU on Saturday. If the Bulldogs lose then they will need a loss from either Tennessee or Arkansas to earn the double bye in the tournament.