STARKVILLE - Dee Bost didn't look very happy following Mississippi State's 67-51 win over LSU on Saturday. As he headed toward the locker room at Humphrey Coliseum, he angrily ripped off his jersey and hung his head.

Perhaps it was because he scored only two points. But the sopohomore point guard did dish out five assists and committed just two turnovers.

"His numbers might not look like it, but just his flow and his tempo, he did a great job controlling the game and giving it to the other point guard," MSU guard Phil Turner said.

Bost was 1 of 4 shooting. Entering Saturday's game, he led the team in field goal attempts in SEC play.

"He did OK. We need Dee to play better," MSU coach Rick Stansbury said. "There was a positive assist/turnover ratio, and that was positive."

MSU had 11 assists and committed eight turnovers.

Bost did not speak with the media after the game.

Bench boost

- Stansbury is finding ways to rest his starters, and the bench played a big role in that. Riley Benock logged 16 minutes, Romero Osby played 15, and sixth man Phil Turner was on the floor for 21 minutes.

Stansbury subbed early and often, and MSU got 22 points from its reserves.

Big John Riek even got three minutes of work in the second half.

"I'm not as worn down as I was earlier, and I'm feeling better," said starting guard Barry Stewart, who scored 12 points in 33 minutes.

He, Jarvis Varnado and Bost had all been averaging 36-plus minutes per game in SEC play prior to Thursday's game at Arkansas.

And for the second consecutive game, Stansbury moved starter Kodi Augustus from the four spot to Varnado's five spot for a few minutes. Varnado played 34 minutes.

"It's not as much about playing Kodi and Phil together," Stansbury said. "It's about trying to buy some minutes to rest Jarvis. Seems like the best guy that can rest him right now is Kodi."

Varnado's milestones

- Varnado had four blocks, giving him 500 for his career. He's had 200 of those swats against SEC competition.

With 36 more blocks, Varnado will break the NCAA career record held by Wojciech Mydra of Louisiana-Monroe. Varnado also has 960 career rebounds, and with five more he'll pass Wiley Peck for third-most in school history.

Quotable

- "I think we played better, but I don't think we played to our best." - MSU guard Ravern Johnson