Herard, Stapleton Rally Dogs From 19 Down To Beat Vols

Saturday, February 4

Starkville

2:30 PM

Mississippi State

14-8, 5-5

Tennessee

13-10, 5-5

Tennessee

Mississippi State

Xavian Stapleton recorded his first-career, double-double to spark a 64-59 come-from-behind win.

Herard, Stapleton Rally Dogs From 19 Down To Beat Vols

February 04, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Official Stats (PDF)Official Stats Photo Gallery Postgame Press Conference

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Now that was an impressive comeback.

Mississippi State erased a 19-point deficit to knock off Tennessee 64-59 Saturday afternoon at Humphrey Coliseum.

The Bulldogs shot 30.9 percent from the field, missed 16 free throws but found a spark on the defensive end to snap a two-game losing streak. The Bulldogs also collected 21 offensive rebounds. In an earlier meeting, the Volunteers had scored 91 points on the Bulldogs.

"Our defensive energy was a lot better in the second half," MSU sophomore Xavian Stapleton said. "That led to some open shots. We had open shots in the first half but didn't knock them down. We got open shots in the second half and finally knocked them down."

Mario Kegler led the Bulldogs with a career-high 17 points.

The Bulldogs also had two double-doubles in game for the first time this season. Schnider Herard had his second with 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, while Stapleton had his first with season highs in points (14) points and rebounds (11).

Lamar Peters was held to his lowest point total in a conference game with four points but did manage a season-high matching seven assists.

"The great lesson is to never quit and never give up," MSU coach Ben Howland said. "Our guys exemplified that today. Our offense was really poor in the first half. Our defense kept us in the game. To be down 12 in the second half, we did a much better job of attacking the rim. We got to the foul line and were able to hit enough of them.

"We did a much better job of taking care of the basketball. Our defense in the second half was the key to the game."

MSU improved to 14-8 overall and 5-5 in league play, while Tennessee fell to 13-10 and 5-5. The Bulldogs and Volunteers split the season series.

The Bulldogs struggled offensively in the initial minutes of the contest. The Volunteers scored the first 12 points of the game. Tennessee would quickly stretch the early lead to 17-2.

Tennessee still held a 29-10 lead with 4:50 left in the half. A 3-pointer by Tyson Carter had the Bulldogs back within 14 points. A 6-0 run was capped by a jumper from Herard and had the deficit back down to 31-21.

Tennessee would then score to take a 33-21 lead at halftime.

In the second half, the Bulldogs reeled off eight-straight points to pull within 43-34. A dunk by Quinndary Weatherspoon sparked the crowd and pulled the Bulldogs within 50-47 with 7:09 left.

The first lead was taken on a 3-pointer by Stapleton at 54-53 with 4:22 left. The Bulldogs then got the ball back and Kegler drained a critical 3-pointer after a rebound by Stapleton.

For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 21 of 68 shots from the field (30.9 percent), 7 of 26 shots from 3-point range (26.9 percent) and 15 of 31 shots from the foul line (48.4 percent). The Volunteers hit 22 of 57 shots from the field (38.6 percent), 5 of 18 shots from 3-point range (27.8 percent) and 10 of 22 shots from the foul line (45.5 percent).

MSU held a 55-45 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had nine assists and 10 turnovers, while the Volunteers had 11 assists and 14 turnovers.

Tennessee received 13 points from Jordan Bone and 11 points from Grant Williams.

MSU returns to the road for a Tuesday night contest at Auburn. The Bulldogs and Tigers tip at 8 p.m. from Auburn Arena on ESPNU.