Miss. St. knocks off No. 6 Kentucky

STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI - Mario Austin hit his first career 3-pointer with 7 seconds left in regulation, then made five free throws in overtime as Mississippi State upset No. 6 Kentucky 74-69 Saturday in the Southeastern Conference opener for both. <br> <br> Austin scored a career-high 32 points, and Derrick Zimmerman added 14 for the Bulldogs, who trailed by 16 at halftime. <br> <br> When the final horn sounded, Austin joined Zimmerman on top of the press table, arms raised, encouraging the near-capacity crowd to join the Bulldogs (14-1) on the court. A few dozen fans did. <br> <br> Tayshaun Prince scored 18 to lead Kentucky (9-3), but had just four points in the second half and only took one shot in overtime. <br> <br> The Bulldogs trailed 65-62 with the shot clock winding down when the 6-foot-9 Austin, who was 0-for-2 from 3-point range in his two-year career, sank a wide-open jumper from the top of the circle to tie it. <br> <br> Kentucky&#39;s Cliff Hawkins was stopped on a drive at the end of regulation. <br> <br> Mississippi State made just one field goal in overtime, but hit 7-of-8 free throws and played tight defense. Austin was 11-for-18 from the line overall, but was 5-for-6 in OT. <br> <br> The last time the Bulldogs beat a team ranked this high was 1996, when they defeated No. 1 Kentucky in the SEC tournament championship game. Both schools went to the Final Four that year, with the Wildcats winning the NCAA title. <br> <br> Mississippi State is off to its best start in 40 years, though the Bulldogs haven&#39;t gotten much credit because of a less-than-formidable schedule. <br> <br> It looked like they were overmatched when Kentucky scored the first nine points of the game, jumped out to a 21-2 lead and held a 40-24 halftime lead. <br> <br> The Bulldogs made just one of their first 15 shots, while the Wildcats were going 9-for-12. <br> <br> But Zimmerman sparked the Bulldogs&#39; second-half comeback, scoring six points during a 13-0 run that cut the lead to 50-47 with 10 minutes left. <br> <br> The 6-foot-2 Zimmerman finished the run with back-to-back one-handed jams that brought the fans to their feet.

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