Dogs Drop A Heartbreaker To Ole Miss In Overtime

Tuesday, February 21

Starkville

8:00 PM

Mississippi State

14-13, 5-10

Ole Miss

17-11, 8-7

Team	1	2	OT 1	F
Ole Miss	23	44	20	87
Mississippi State	25	42	15	82

I.J. Ready scored a season-high 20 points in the 87-82 overtime loss to Ole Miss.

Dogs Drop A Heartbreaker To Ole Miss In Overtime

February 21, 2017 | Men's Basketball

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STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State erased a nine-point deficit in the final minutes of regulation time before falling to arch-rival Ole Miss 87-82 in overtime Tuesday at Humphrey Coliseum.

MSU trailed 63-54 with 2:58 left in the regulation time. The Bulldogs pulled even on a pair of free throws from I.J. Ready with 11 seconds left and a basket by Ready with two seconds left. The Bulldogs got a tie-up to get another possession.

Ole Miss improved to 17-11 overall and 8-7 in conference play, while MSU fell to 14-13 and 5-10. The Bulldogs lost their fifth straight while also losing the season series to the Rebels.

"It was disappointing to be on the short end of another frustrating loss," MSU coach Ben Howland said. "Our first-half field goal percentage defense was great (24.2 percent). In the second half, we didn't play well enough defensively to win. It was a great comeback. The kids are giving great effort. It's just not adding up to a win."

MSU placed four players in double figures. I.J. Ready matched a season high with 20 points. Mario Kegler had 15 points, while Quinndary Weatherspoon had 14 points and Xavian Stapleton had 11 points.

The lead changed hands eight times during a nip-and-tuck first half. The Bulldogs scored the game's first four points before the Rebels sprinted out to a 15-11 advantage. The Bulldogs would later come back for an 18-17 lead on a layup by Ready.

Weatherspoon followed with a tip-in for a 20-17 lead and the Bulldogs later led 25-23 at halftime.

With 14:09 left in the contest, a Tyson Carter 3-pointer pushed the Bulldogs' lead to 41-36. The Bulldogs would then go right at six minutes before another field goal. A tip-in by Schnider Herard tied the contest at 45.

The Bulldogs would not lead again and fell down by nine points at 61-52 with 3:36 left.

In the overtime period, the Rebels took control by scoring the first 10 points.

For the contest, MSU hit 31 of 74 shots from the field (41.9 percent), 6 of 24 shots from 3-point range (25.0 percent) and 14 of 25 shots from the foul line (56.0 percent). Ole Miss hit 24 of 65 shots from the field (36.9 percent), 5 of 23 shots from 3-point range (21.7 percent) and 34 of 44 shots from the foul line (77.3 percent).

MSU held a 49-48 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 13 assists and 22 turnovers, while the Rebels had 10 assists and 21 turnovers.

Ole Miss placed four players in double figures. Breein Tyree had 24 points, while Sebastian Saiz had 23 points. Terence Davis had 12 points, while Deandre Burnett had 10 points. Both Saiz and Davis had double-doubles as each had 10 rebounds apiece.

MSU returns to the road for a Saturday contest at Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs and Commodores tip at 3 p.m. on ESPNU.