Men’s Hoops Makes it Five Straight in SEC Play

Saturday, February 1

Starkville

1:00 PM

Mississippi State

14-7 (5-3SEC)

Tennessee

12-9 (4-4SEC)

Tennessee

Mississippi State

Men’s Hoops Makes it Five Straight in SEC Play

February 01, 2020 | Men's Basketball

Box Score WATCH: Highlights WATCH: D.J. Stewart Jr. ESPNU Interview VIDEO: Postgame Presser Box Score (PDF)Photos Quotes (PDF)

by Mikaela Elizondo, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – D.J. Stewart Jr. exploded for 16 of his career-high 20 points aided by a career-best four treys during the second half to fuel the Mississippi State men's basketball team to its fifth-straight SEC triumph and an 86-73 victory over Tennessee on Saturday at Humphrey Coliseum.

The Bulldogs (14-7, 5-3 SEC) snapped a four-game losing streak to Tennessee (12-8, 4-3 SEC). The 13-point margin of victory was the MSU's highest over the Volunteers since an 82-60 win on Jan. 28, 2004. Mississippi State also erased its second consecutive halftime deficit, its fourth halftime hole of the season and its 19th overall under fifth-year coach Ben Howland.

Once again, the Bulldogs scorched the nets during the second half going 18-of-26 from the field. The 69.2 shooting percentage is the best, while the 58 second-half points are the second-highest versus a SEC opponent under Howland.

For Stewart Jr., he was 6-of-9 from the field. The redshirt freshman knocked down a back-to-back triples 27 seconds apart to cap an 18-5 spurt midway through the second half which rallied the Bulldogs from a five-point deficit to an eight-point advantage. The Bulldogs have won nine of 10 games when Stewart Jr. produces 10-plus points.

Reggie Perry compiled his SEC-leading 12th double-double of his sophomore campaign and the 21st of his career en route to a game-leading 24 points and 12 rebounds. He was extremely active on the interior and hit on 12-of-15 at the free throw line. The Thomasville, Georgia, native has posted 20-plus point performances in five of the last six games.

Nick Weatherspoon turned in another strong all-around performance from the point guard position. He nearly garnered a triple-double with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting coupled with a career-high nine assists and a career-best eight rebounds. Weatherspoon has piled up 33 assists versus seven turnovers over his last five games, and Mississippi State improved to 8-1 when he dishes out five-plus assists.

Robert Woodard II dialed up 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting to collect his ninth double-digit scoring performance in his last 13 outings.

Tyson Carter and Abdul Ado worked their way to eight and six points, respectively. Ado chipped in six rebounds whereas Carter tacked on a pair of assists. The eight points for Carter enabled him to move past Mario Austin (2001-02-03) into 27th place on MSU's all-time scoring list.

Iverson Molinar and KeyShawn Feazell rounded out the scoring for the Bulldogs. Molinar turned in two points and Feazell added one.

For the contest, MSU hit 28-of-49 shots from the field (57.1 percent), 5-of-12 shots from 3-point range (41.7 percent) and 25-of-30 shots from the foul line (83.3 percent).

The Bulldogs had 16 assists and an SEC season-low eight turnovers, while Tennessee had 17 assists and six turnovers. State held a 36-24 rebounding advantage and has outrebounded its opponents in 16 of 21 games overall highlighted by seven of eight SEC opponents. MSU has won the battle of the boards by double figures in six of its last seven games.

Tennessee countered with a 27-of-58 shooting effort (46.6 percent), 10-of-22 from three-point territory (45.5 percent) and a 9-of-13 clip at the charity stripe (69.2 percent). Uros Plavsic and Santiago Vescovi paced the Volunteers with 16 points apiece. Jalen Johnson had a career-best performance off the bench with 13 points, five assists and four steals.

FROM THE BENCH WITH COACH HOWLAND
"That was obviously a really, really big win for us against a really good program and team. I thought that they did a great job coming out early and playing inside-out. Abdul [Ado] got in foul trouble, and that was a huge factor in that first half because our defense was not nearly as good with him out of the game as it is when he's in the game. I thought what broke it up for us down six at the half, which I'm getting way too tired of us always being down at the half and having to mount comebacks – it was our defense. When we played much better defensively, we got a bunch of opportunities to get out and transition."

"I thought Reggie [Perry] did a great job running the floor, and Nick [Weatherspoon] did a great job finding him. Everybody's running, so they're spaced out, and we're getting to them early [in the shot clock]. I thought Nick was just masterful, nine assists, two turnovers and eight rebounds. He really did a great job for us. D.J. Stewart Jr. had his best offensive night of the year. What a great day to pick to do it. In his two three's [midway in the second half], the building was electric. That was just so exciting. I'm just so happy for him because he puts an incredible amount of time in."

"He [D.J. Stewart Jr.] does things that don't show up [in the box score]. He's been phenomenal, and he's a phenomenal defensive player. He's always drawing the best perimeter player that's not the point guard and done a great job there. He's really just a phenomenal kid, and he's getting better and better. Remember, he's just a [redshirt] freshman. Tonight, with the way he played offensively, I think it's going to be good boost for him, confidence wise, especially on those three's. I'm really excited for him, and he's huge for us."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Trailing 40-35 at the 17:13 mark, the Bulldogs ripped off 10 straight points over the next 2:15 and 18 of the next 23 points during a 4:29 span to snatch a 53-45 advantage with 12:08 remaining.

Reggie Perry spearheaded the front end of the flurry with a pair of layups and two free throws to bring the tally to 45-40 with 14:24 to go. Then, Stewart Jr. did the heavy lifting with back-to-back trifectas inside a 27-second span. The first from the left corner on a drive and dish from Nick Weatherspoon, and the second from the right wing in transition courtesy of Perry.

Mississippi State stretched the lead into double digits, 59-49 with 9:48, on a Robert Woodard II midrange jumper. The Bulldogs took their largest lead, 78-61, after two Perry free throws at the 3:24 mark. State buried 16 of its 19 shot attempts from the 14:53 mark to the 3:52 mark in the second half.

Perry, Weatherspoon and Woodard II started fast with two buckets apiece as the Bulldogs built a 13-6 edge during the first 6:18 of the contest.

Tennessee got rolling behind the three-pointer. Yves Pons dialed up two of his own and found Jalen Johnson for another triple. The Volunteers took their first lead at 19-17 with 8:51 remaining.

Tennessee would take a 34-28 advantage into the locker room behind consecutive buckets from Johnson and Uros Plavsic inside the final 68 seconds of the stanza.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State heads to the Bluegrass to face SEC preseason favorite and No. 13 Kentucky as part of another ESPN Family of Networks Super Tuesday matchup. Tip time is on-tap for 8 p.m. CT from Rupp Arena. The game will be televised by ESPN and carried online courtesy of the Watch ESPN platform.

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.