MSU stands 9th after one day of Bryan

HOUSTON — Kevin Durant scored 37 points and Klay Thompson added 28 to lead Golden State to a 119-106 win in the long-awaited showdown with the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Monday night.

Starting a playoff series on the road for the first time since 2014, the Warriors trailed by as many as 9 early, but had evened it up by halftime and used a big run at the beginning of the fourth quarter to pull away.

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BRYAN, Texas – Mississippi State's Garrett Johnson celebrated his birthday with a strong round to open NCAA Bryan Regional play on Monday.

The sophomore shot a 1-under 35 on the front nine to finish his day with a 1-over-73 through opening-round play at the par72, 7,146-yard Traditions Club.

Johnson's front-side performance was part of a 1-over-par rally by the Bulldog men's golf team for its final nine holes after shooting 11-over on the back nine to start the opening round.

“I came out with a lot of swag and was ready to go for this round,” Johnson said. “I got off to a scratchy start, but I knew that if I kept plugging along and giving myself opportunities that good things were going to happen.”

“I can't say enough about the character of this team,” MSU men's golf coach Dusty Smith said. “Garrett was huge for us (Monday) and played a solid round when the team needed it.”

MSU improved from the bottom of the leaderboard to ninth through the day's competition, and will need to make up a seven-stroke gap between itself and fifth place -- the minimum needed to advance to the championship round -- within the next two days.

All five MSU players were better on the front nine. Senior Taylor Bibbs played even after the turn to finish with a 75 and a share of 43rd.

Sophomore Peng Pichaikool and senior Taylor Grant both contributed 1-over 37s on the

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