Jackson Free Press

Mississippi State University won its opening round game of the SEC Tournament with a 70-59 victory over the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. It was the first time in three seasons that the Bulldogs won their opening game of the tournament. MSU has won three of their last four games, and this win was the second in a row after defeating Auburn to end the season.

The Bulldogs led for most of the game, but South Carolina made a couple of runs in the second half to cut the MSU lead down to four points. Each time the Gamecocks rallied, they were stymied by former Jim Hill star Fred Thomas, who made a big play to extend the Bulldogs' lead.

If Mississippi State needed a big three-point shot, Thomas was there--he was four for eight on three-pointers. If the Bulldogs needed a defensive stop, the freshman guard made a steal or a block.

Thomas had a game-high and career-high 21 points, but scoring was not his only contribution to the win. The freshman guard also had three rebounds, three assists, three blocks and five steals.

During the game, Thomas passed former MSU star Dee Bost's second place position for most steals by a freshman. Bost had 52 steals, and currently Thomas has 55 steals. He is five steals away from tying the all-time leader in freshman steals, Ray White, whose record is 60 steals.

Thomas is averaging 9.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.8 blocks per game in his first season with the Bulldogs. His previous career high came against the Florida Gators, when he scored 19 points in a blowout loss.

At Jim Hill, Thomas was the named Metro Player of the Year, as well as Dandy Dozen, his senior season. He led Jim Hill to the class 6A title his senior year with a win over Tupelo.

In the championship game, Thomas had a game-high 24 points and hit the game winning three point shot for the win. In his senior season with Jim Hill, Thomas averaged 19.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 2.2 assists.

Thomas has been a bright spot for the Bulldogs in a season where the team has been hit with multiple injuries to key players before the season started and during the season. Mississippi State fans can look hopefully to next season as Thomas develops into a major role at MSU.

The freshman is majoring in physical education and is the son of Nicole Thomas and Fredrick McDonald.

Mississippi State and Thomas hope to continue their winning ways today against the Tennessee Volunteers in the second round of the SEC Tournament. The game can be seen locally on WJTV (Jackson's CBS affiliate) at 2:30 p.m.