No. 18 Men’s Hoops Routs Hartford, 77-59

Sunday, November 11

Starkville

4:00 PM

Mississippi State

2-0

Hartford

0-3

Team	1	2	F
Hartford	29	30	59
Mississippi State	43	34	77

Photo by: Blake Williams/MSU Athletics

No. 18 Men’s Hoops Routs Hartford, 77-59

November 11, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Coach Howland Press Conference Photo Gallery Quotes (PDF)

by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – Another balanced scoring attack headed by a 22-point performance and a career-best six steals courtesy of Quinndary Weatherspoon propelled No. 18 Mississippi State to a stellar 77-59 victory over Hartford on Sunday at Humphrey Coliseum in a MGM Resorts Main Event Regional Round.

Four Bulldogs finished the afternoon in double-figures, and Tyson Carter's potent sharpshooting provided 14 points ignited by a quartet of three-pointers off the bench. Carter's 14 points enabled MSU to score 23 of the game's 28 bench points.

Mississippi State (2-0) also won the battle of the boards for the second game in a row by a 36-28 mark led by Abdul Ado's game-high 10 rebounds. The Bulldogs hauled down 16 offensive boards and dominated second-chance points, 20-4.

Aric Holman turned in a solid all-around effort with 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks, while Nick Weatherspoon tacked on 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

Lamar Peters managed eight points to go along with a team-leading four assists and three steals. Off the bench, Reggie Perry registered seven points coupled with with four boards and a block. KeyShawn Feazell notched there rebounds in five minutes of action.

FROM THE BENCH WITH COACH HOWLAND
"It was hard fought for us. Hartford, I knew going in was to the season won 19 games a yard ago and had a chance to get to the NCAA Tournament. We had to break it open a couple times and just couldn't quite get to it which is a credit to them. It was a good test. I thought that Tyson [Carter] gave us great minutes again coming in the game. He was knocking down his shot, very steady and plays good defense for us. Obviously, Q [Quinndary Weatherspoon] had another good game. We did a good job on the glass with Aric [Holman] and Abdul [Ado]. But overall, it's a win against a team that won 19 games from a year ago that's had a tough stretch here to start their season because they're playing two road games back-to-back."

"There's no question, Tyson [Carter] is like a starter out there for us. Those three guys are going to play those minutes primarily. Lamar [Peters], Nick [Weatherspoon] and Tyson. They're playing the one, two and three. That gives us a really good threesome right there at those two positions, and you saw tonight for a while we were playing Tyson at the point. I'm very comfortable with him, and he can play both on the ball and off the ball which is really big for us. It gives us three point guards we can go with.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
An 11-0 run placed the Bulldogs on top 13-5 in the early stages of the contest. The Bulldogs never trailed after grabbing that lead. A dunk by Reggie Perry was the highlight of the run and helped get the crowd energized early.

Hartford closed back within five before MSU used a 7-2 run to grab a 27-14 lead on a pair of Quinndary Weatherspoon free throws.

The Bulldogs would lead by as many as 17 in the opening half. MSU shot 42.9 percent from the field in the first half and led 43-29 at halftime.

Back-to-back dunks by Holman followed by a layup from Nick Weatherspoon ran the lead to 53-33 with 11:22 left in the contest.

Hartford pulled back within 17 on a pair of 3-point baskets. A layup by Carter and 3-pointer by Lamar Peters helped stop the final run.

For the contest, MSU hit 30-of-66 shots from the field (45.5 percent), 9-of-24 shots from 3-point range (37.5 percent) and 8-of-9 shots from the foul line (88.9 percent).

Hartford hit 22 of 49 shots from the field (44.9 percent), 6 of 20 shots from 3-point range (30.0 percent) and 9 of 11 shots from the foul line (81.8 percent).

MSU held a 36-28 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 14 assists and 12 turnovers, while the Hawks had 13 assists and 21 turnovers.

Hartford (0-3) received 17 points from Jason Dunne and 16 points from John Carroll. Dunne also had a team-high nine rebounds for the Hawks.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State finishes a three-game homestand and faces Long Beach State for its second regional round matchup of the MGM Resorts Main Event. Friday's tip time is set for 8 p.m. CT and will be televised by SEC Network.

The Mississippi State Athletics Ticket Office is selling season tickets for as low as $199. Fans can purchase tickets online at www.HailState.com/Hoops, in person at the MSU Athletics Ticket Office located at the Bryan Athletic Building or via the phone at (662) 325-2600. Information on single-game tickets and mini plans will be announced at a later date by the ticket office.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching 'HailStateMBK' on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.