No. 14 Men's Hoops Upended by Ole Miss, 81-77

Saturday, January 12

Starkville

12:00 PM

Mississippi State

12-3 (0-2SEC)

Ole Miss

13-2 (3-0SEC)

Ole Miss

Mississippi State

No. 14 Men's Hoops Upended by Ole Miss, 81-77

January 12, 2019 | Men's Basketball

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

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – The No. 14 Mississippi State men's basketball team was handed an 81-77 setback by Ole Miss to conclude its opening week of SEC play on Saturday at Humphrey Coliseum.

Quinndary Weatherspoon secured 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals to pace the Bulldogs. He has registered double figures in eight consecutive games and in 14 of 15 games this season. The 18 points pulled Weatherspoon into a sixth place tie with Dee Bost (2009-10-11-12) on the program's all-time scoring list.

Lamar Peters picked up 16 points and four assists. The four assists allowed Peters to eclipse Butch Pierre (1981-82-83-84) for 10th place in program history. Peters has tucked away double digit points in seven of his last eight outings.

Nick Weatherspoon garnered 11 points, four rebounds and two assists. He has provided 10-plus points in four of his last five appearances

Aric Holman chipped in eight points, four rebounds and two blocks followed by a pair of seven-point efforts off the bench courtesy of Reggie Perry and Robert Woodard II. Perry also hauled down seven rebounds coupled with a pair of steals.

Abdul Ado came away with a solid all-around effort that featured six points, a game-leading 11 rebounds, two blocks and two steals, while Tyson Carter rounded out the scoring for MSU with four points.

The Bulldogs (12-3, 0-2 SEC) connected on 19 of their 30 field goals inside the paint en route to a 38-26 advantage. MSU also tallied a 38-30 rebounding edge and scored 18 of the game's 26 bench points.

Ole Miss (13-2, 3-0 SEC) knocked down seven of its 12 three-pointers during the second half. The Rebels also forced Mississippi State into 15 turnovers and held an 18-11 edge in points off turnovers.

FROM THE BENCH WITH COACH HOWLAND
"I've always been a coach that believes defense wins first. We really did a poor job of defending here in the last few games and even our efficiency defensively on the year is not even close to what we're doing offensively. Defensively, we've got to get better."
"I thought that Ole Miss really showed a lot of moxie and a lot of toughness when they fell down both in the first half and the second half and was able to bounce back from both of those deficits … I thought we did a horrible job on Blake Hinson. We knew what he was. He's a three-point shooter, he really got going."

"I thought Robert Woodard [II] and Reggie Perry both had really good games for us as freshmen. I got to use Robert more as a four especially in a matchup like with Hinson where we really struggled to get out to him and take on that challenge of guarding him on the perimeter."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Mississippi State stretched its 41-39 halftime advantage to nine points after a 7-0 run with 18:01 remaining. Lamar Peters canned a three-pointer sandwiched between a Tyson Carter layup and a Quinndary Weatherspoon one-handed jam.

The Rebels responded with 17 of the next 24 points and took a 56-55 lead of their own on a Bruce Stevens trey at the 12:31 mark. Ole Miss took its largest lead at 72-64 on a Tyree dunk with 6:07 to go.

The Bulldogs put together a rally and drew even at 77-77 on a Nick Weatherspoon deep trey on the right wing from Peters with 1:14 left. Other key plays included a traditional three-point play with Peters and a triple from Holman.

Ole Miss responded on the ensuing possession with a driving Tyree layup late shot clock. The Bulldogs misfired on their next two shots from Quinndary Weatherspoon and Lamar Peters. The Rebels salted away the four-point decision after two Tyree free throws.

Both teams had strong offensive showings and shot over 45 percent during the opening half. Neither team gained more than a three-point lead during the game's opening 10 minutes.

The Bulldogs rattled off a 12-0 flurry to turn a 21-18 deficit into a 32-21 lead with 7:37 on the clock. The freshmen, Reggie Perry and Robert Woodard II, ignited the charge with a combined nine points.

Mississippi State maintained its double-digit advantage until Ole Miss closed the half with a 14-4 run to bring the halftime tally to 41-39.

For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 30-of-64 shots from the field (46.9 percent), 6-of-21 shots from 3-point range (28.6 percent) and 11-of-16 shots from the foul line (68.8 percent).

The Rebels hit 27-of-59 shots from the field (46.6 percent), 12-of-31 shots from 3-point range (38.7 percent) and 15-of-20 shots from the foul line (75.0 percent).

The Bulldogs had 11 assists and 15 turnovers, while the Rebels had 15 assists and 10 turnovers.

Ole Miss received 26 points from Blake Hinson, 19 points and five assists from Breein Tyree, 12 points from Terence Davis and 10 points from Devontae Shuler. Bruce Stevens had a team-high eight rebounds.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State continues its two-game homestand and welcomes Florida to Humphrey Coliseum on Tuesday, Jan. 15 with tip time is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT. The game will be televised by SEC Network and available online through 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.