Peters' Career Night Lifts No. 22 Men’s Hoops

Tuesday, December 4

Starkville

7:00 PM

Mississippi State

7-1

McNeese State

2-6

McNeese State

Mississippi State

Photo by: Blake Williams/MSU Athletics

Peters' Career Night Lifts No. 22 Men’s Hoops

December 04, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Highlights Box Score (PDF)Postgame Press Conference Photos Quotes (PDF)

by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – Lamar Peters pumped in 15 of his career-high 27 points during a 51-point explosion in the second half to ignite No. 22 Mississippi State to a 90-77 victory over McNeese State on Tuesday at Humphrey Coliseum.

The Bulldogs (7-1) notched their 19th straight home non-conference victory, while also earning their 11th halftime comeback victory under fourth-year head coach Ben Howland.

The New Orleans, Louisiana, native was lights-out from the field. He connected on a career-best eight three-pointers and 9-of-16 shooting overall. The eight treys tied a school single-game record and marked the fifth time in program history that a MSU player has drained eight three-pointers. The last time was Winsome Frazier against Missouri-Kansas City on Nov. 23, 2004.

While Peters boasted a career-high scoring night, he was just as selfish at creating scoring opportunities for his teammates and tallied five assists. He has dialed up double figures in five of his last six contests.

Mississippi State had to fend off a strong first-half shooting performance by the Cowboys (2-6), who shot 65.5 percent in the opening half to go into the locker room with a three-point advantage. The second 20 minutes was a much different story as the Bulldogs ramped up the intensity on both ends of the floor and outscored McNeese State by a 51-35 margin.

MSU's second-half surge was highlighted by a 19 consecutive points and a 25-3 spurt over nearly an eight-minute span. The Bulldogs had one of their best nights of the Howland era from beyond the arc and drained 14 triples, the second-most over the last four seasons.

Reggie Perry reeled off 15 points, nine rebound and two blocks off the bench in an efficient 18 minutes. He was 5-of-8 from the field and knocked down a pair of three-pointers.

Nick Weatherspoon added 11 points, two assists and two steals followed by Tyson Carter who tacked on eight of his 10 points during the first half.

Aric Holman and Quinndary Weatherspoon secured eight points apiece. Holman also pulled down a game-leading 11 rebounds and registered three blocks nearly en route to his third double-double of the season. Weatherspoon had his streak of seven straight games in double figures to start the season come to a close.

Mississippi State imposed its will on the glass and outrebounded the Cowboys by a 40-23 tally. The Bulldogs grabbed 19 of the game's 23 offensive boards and amassed a 24-4 edge in second-chance points.

FROM THE BENCH WITH COACH HOWLAND
"I thought we had some really good performances tonight especially by Lamar Peters and Reggie Perry. I thought Lamar [Peters] really played well tonight and shot the ball extremely well. He made a lot of good decisions. Reggie [Perry] had his best game of the year, 15 points and nine rebounds, and he took a charge. He did all the right things for us defensively. He played the longest stretch that he's played. He looked good. I was pumped up about that because we need him coming on like that."

"This was an important win. Now, it sets up a big two weeks, and two practices coming up for the game against Clemson on Saturday. Getting back to this game – this was an important win that we did a much better job. If we don't start with the defensive end, we're going to struggle. Tonight, we shot 44 percent and shot 45 percent from the three-point line. That was the huge stat offensively. I thought we got to the line a lot. We got to the line 10 times in the first half. We made a concerted effort to get it inside more which was good. We've got to be able to score down there."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Things were nip-and-tuck in the opening half. A three-pointer by Tyson Carter gave the Bulldogs an 18-16 lead with 11:42 left. Back-to-back treys by Carter and Peters pushed the Bulldogs to a 26-19 advantage.

In the opening half, McNeese State shot 65.5 percent from the field. The Cowboys used those hot hands to stay in the contest. A three-pointer by James Harvey gave the Cowboys a 37-34 lead, and McNeese State carried that three-point spread into halftime at 42-39.

The Bulldogs defended much better during the second 20 minutes and allowed just four points in the paint after allowing 28 during the opening stanza.

With McNeese State up 50-47 at the 17:36 mark, Peters knotted the scoreboard with a trey courtesy of Quinndary Weatherspoon. That would kickstart at 19-0 run by the Maroon and White.

Abdul Ado, Reggie Perry and Quinndary Weatherspoon scored consecutive baskets for a 56-50 lead with 13:48 to go. Ado and Perry's buckets were on offensive putbacks.

Peters capped the flurry with a straight-line drive to the cup with a finger roll finish. Then, he found Perry for a two-handed jam and canned another trifecta to make it 65-50 with 11:59 on the clock.

The Bulldogs kept McNeese State at arm's length and down double figures the rest of the way.

For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 29-of-65 shots from the field (44.6 percent), 14-of-31 shots from 3-point range (45.2 percent) and 18-of-25 shots from the foul line (72.0 percent).

The Cowboys hit 29-of-50 shots from the field (58.0 percent), 7-of-13 shots from 3-point range (53.8 percent) and 12-of-18 shots from the foul line (66.7 percent).

Mississippi State had 14 assists and 10 turnovers, while McNeese State had 11 assists and 14 turnovers.

The Cowboys received 24 points and six rebounds from Malik Hinds, 14 points from Jarren Greenwood, 12 points from Will Robinson and 11 points and three assists from Shamarkus Kennedy.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State heads into a stretch of five consecutive games against teams who earned postseason berths and racked up a combined 126 victories during the 2017-18 season.

The Bulldogs take on 2018 NCAA Sweet 16 participant as part of the Never Forget Tribute Classic in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday. Tip time is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT. The game will be televised by ESPN2 and available online courtesy of the WatchESPN app.

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.