Men’s Hoops Fights Past South Carolina, 79-76

Wednesday, February 19

Starkville

8:00 PM

Mississippi State

17-9 (8-5SEC)

South Carolina

16-10 (8-5SEC)

South Carolina

Mississippi State

Men’s Hoops Fights Past South Carolina, 79-76

February 20, 2020 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)WATCH: Postgame Presser PHOTOS Quotes (PDF)

by Mikaela Elizondo, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State rode a balanced scoring effort as Abdul Ado, Tyson Carter and Robert Woodard II did the heavy lifting with 25 first-half points followed by Reggie Perry, D.J. Stewart Jr. and Nick Weatherspoon who piled up 36 second-half points during a 79-76 grind-it-out style of win over South Carolina on Wednesday at Humphrey Coliseum.

The victory moved Mississippi State (17-9, 8-5 SEC) into a fifth-place tie with the Gamecocks (16-10, 8-5 SEC) in the SEC standings. The two teams are one-game behind a three-way log jam for second place consisting of Auburn, Florida and LSU. The Bulldogs have won 13 of 17 meetings over South Carolina in Starkville. Six of the last seven outings between the two teams have been decided by six points or less.

Weatherspoon played the role of floor general with a team-leading 18 points headed by an 8-for-9 effort at the free throw line. He dished out six assists, and the Bulldogs improved to 9-2 during Weatherspoon's career when he reached five-plus dimes.

Stewart Jr. continued his hot streak and turned in double figures for the seventh time in the last nine outings. The redshirt freshman pumped in 14 of his 16 points fueled by a pair of crucial three-pointers during the second half.

After providing the game-winner with under a second left at Arkansas last time out, Ado rattled home a SEC season's best 14 points on an efficient 5-of-6 shooting. It marked Ado's first game with double digit points since he tallied 12 points at LSU on Jan. 111. The Nigeria native also grabbed seven rebounds which allowed him to move into 28th place on the program's all-time list.

Perry battled his way to his 14th double-double of his sophomore campaign with 10 points and a game-leading 10 rebounds. It marked the 23rd double-double of his career which is the most for a MSU player during his freshman and sophomore seasons since Rickey Brown also collected 23 during the 1976-77 and 1977-78 seasons.

Carter and Woodard II chipped in nine points apiece. Woodard II hauled down six rebounds whereas Carter tacked on three assists and a pair of steals. Iverson Molinar rounded out the scoring with three points at the charity stripe for the Bulldogs.

For the contest, MSU drained 23-of-46 shots from the field (50.0 percent), 5-of-12 shots from three-point range (41.7 percent) and 28-of-36 shots from the foul line (77.8 percent). The 50.0 shooting clip is a season-high for an SEC opponent versus South Carolina. Only No. 22 Houston has shot a higher percentage against the Gamecocks.

The Bulldogs had 14 assists and committed 22 turnovers, while South Carolina totaled 17 assists and 15 turnovers. State claimed a 32-29 edge in the battle of the boards and equaled a season-high with 26 fastbreak points.

South Carolina went 29-of-60 overall (48.3 percent), 4-of-17 on three-pointers (23.5 percent) and notched a 14-of-19 mark on foul shots (73.7 percent). The Gamecocks had three players register double figures headed by Maik Kotsar's solid all-around effort with 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Jermaine Couisnard and A.J. Lawson followed with 17 and 12 points, respectively.

FROM THE BENCH WITH COACH HOWLAND
"I'm so thankful to the good Lord. I can't express that enough. I'm very blessed. This group of kids are such tremendous fighters and are so tough. That is one of the most difficult teams in the county to play against. You see how hot they are coming in here. They have won eight of 10 and six of their last seven. Frank [Martin] is an incredible coach. It is so hard to simulate them in our practice – the way they play, the way they deny everything and the way they get on top. I just thought it was a heck of a win for us against the hottest team in our league."

"I thought Abdul [Ado] in the first half was tremendous. He really did a good job the whole game. I thought Nick [Weatherspoon] really did a good job handling the pressure. It is so hard, you have nowhere to go. You have to put your head down and get to the rim. He made some big plays tonight, Nick Weatherspoon did. I thought Reggie [Perry] handled his composure really well. It is such a physical game. The best thing if you're a basketball fan is to not watch the ball, watch off the ball. There is so much physicality. This is the most physical team maybe in the country."

"I said, before the game the other day to the media, playing against Frank Martin and his team is like getting a root canal. It really is, it's that painful. It's absolutely brutal. It's unbelievable how painful it is. They embody their coach. 'Never quit, never give up'. They have unbelievable toughness and physicality. Frank [Martin] is just an incredible coach … For me right now, this is our best win of the year."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The opening 10 minutes of the contest was played within a single possession and featured a trio of ties along with five lead changes.

Mississippi State used a 10-2 flurry over a 3:34 span to turn a 12-11 deficit into a 21-14 advantage with 9:07 remaining. The run was highlighted by Robert Woodard II trey courtesy of Nick Weatherspoon in transition coupled with a Weatherspoon midrange jumper and an Abdul Ado dunk from Weatherspoon.

The Gamecocks countered with six straight points fueled by three Maik Kotsar baskets in the paint to bring the tally to 21-20 with 7:37 to go.

Mississippi State turned to Ado who cancelled out Kotsar's rally with six consecutive points of his own. A nifty layup in traffic off an offensive rebound made it 27-20 at the 5:30 mark.

The Bulldogs took a 36-27 edge into the locker room. The Ado-Carter-Woodard II trio secured 25 points and knocked down 9 of their 13 shot attempts.

The Maroon and White stretched their lead out to double digits, 47-37, as Weatherspoon connected with D.J. Stewart Jr. for a dunk with 15:32 left.

South Carolina trimmed the margin down to four points on two occasions at 48-44 with 12:02 remaining and at 62-58 with 5:22 on the clock. First, it was a Reggie Perry traditional three-point play followed by a Stewart Jr. left-wing transition triple that allowed the Bulldogs to weather the storms.

The Stewart Jr. three-pointer kickstarted 10 of the next 12 points over a 2:56 span which allowed Mississippi State to equal its largest lead, 71-60 after a Weatherspoon layup with 2:26 to go.

The Gamecocks wouldn't go away and worked their way back to within a point, 76-75, after a Jair Bolden three-pointer with seven seconds left.

State kept its composure and dialed up an 8-for-10 clip at the free throw line to overcome five turnovers inside the last 67 seconds. Weatherspoon buried two clutch pairs, the later following the Bolden trey to put the lead back up to three points.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State will play its second of three consecutive weekend road games at Texas A&M on Saturday. Tip time is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised by the SEC Network 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.