Mississippi State used lockdown defense to pull away from South Carolina in the second half in an SEC Tournament game on Thursday, as the Bulldogs also got balanced scoring from their starting lineup.

Mississippi State stretched its 2-point halftime lead thanks to an 11-2 run and a 47-37 lead early in the second, and from there, the Bulldogs coasted to a 73-51 victory. The Bulldogs found their stride from 3-point land, and it proved to be especially effective against South Carolina’s zone defense. Tolu Smith led the Bulldogs with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Iverson Molinar chipped in 19.

In the first half, the Gamecocks shot the ball well, and eventually got back in the game after an early deficit. They were down early, made a run, gave up a run, got back in it. Erik Stevenson at halftime had 13 points and 4 assists. He led the Gamecocks for the game with 18 points.

But that strong shooting disappeared after halftime, as South Carolina shot just 1-of-7 to start the second half. Then the Gamecocks suffered a prolonged scoring drought of more than 4 minutes, as the Bulldogs built a 9-point lead with 7:52 remaining, and then continued the hot stretch with a 7-0 run.

The Bulldogs especially excelled in points in the paint (42-16), second chance points (17-3) and points off of turnovers (19-9).

Molinar and James Reese got into a shoving match with 6:01 remaining, and they were each whistled for offsetting technical fouls.

The Bulldogs will advance to play Tennessee at 6 p.m. ET on Friday.