Men’s Hoops Fends Off Missouri, 67-63

Saturday, February 29

Columbia, Mo.

2:30 PM

Mississippi State

19-10 (10-6SEC)

Missouri

14-15 (6-10SEC)

Mississippi State

Missouri

Men’s Hoops Fends Off Missouri, 67-63

February 29, 2020 | Men's Basketball

Box Score WATCH: Highlights WATCH: Postgame Presser WATCH: Reggie Perry SEC Network Interview Box Score (PDF)

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

COLUMBIA, Missouri – Tyson Carter, Reggie Perry and Nick Weatherspoon knocked down timely baskets inside the last 10 minutes, while Abdul Ado provided a big block during the final minute to lift the Mississippi State men's basketball team to a regular season sweep and a hard-fought 67-63 victory over Missouri on Saturday at Mizzou Arena.

The Bulldogs (19-10, 10-6 SEC) have captured 10 SEC victories during back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1994-95 and 1995-96 under Richard Williams. The win also pushed Mississippi State into a fourth-place tie with Florida in the SEC standings. South Carolina trails the two teams by a half-game and plays at Alabama later tonight.

The Bulldogs have won eight of their last nine games over Missouri (14-15, 6-10 SEC). Mississippi State also secured its seventh NCAA Quad 1/Quad 2 victory on the season.

Carter delivered 10 of his team-leading 15 points after halftime and was 6-of-9 shooting. His 15-point performance allowed him to surpass Rich Knarr (1973-74-75-76) and Tang Hamilton (1998-99-2000-01) into 19th place on the program's all-time scoring list. He has reached double figures in 11 of his last 14 games coming off the bench.

Perry filled the box score with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks whereas Weatherspoon also fired in 12 points to go along with two assists.

D.J. Stewart Jr. came away with eight points followed by Robert Woodard II's seven points, five rebounds and two blocks. Abdul Ado notched six points, seven rebounds and two blocks. The Ado-Stewart Jr.-Woodard II combo turned in an efficient 9-of-15 effort from the floor.

Iverson Molinar and KeyShawn Feazell chipped in five and two points, respectively, as the Bulldogs held a 22-17 advantage in bench points.

For the contest, Mississippi State put forth a 25-of-47 shooting performance (53.2 percent), 4-of-12 (33.3 percent) on its three-pointers and 13-of-20 (65.0 percent) from the foul line. The Bulldogs have registered a 50 percent shooting clip or better in nine of their 10 SEC wins. State lost the rebounding battle, 36-30, for the first time going back to the Alabama game on Jan. 8.

Missouri went 22-of-60 from the field (36.7 percent), 6-of-29 from three-point territory (20.7 percent) and 13-of-15 on free throws (86.7 percent). The Tigers were fueled by Xavier Pinson's 20 points followed by Dru Smith's 19 points, nine rebounds and three steals.

FROM THE BENCH WITH COACH HOWLAND
"I thought our defense today was the key. They had some good looks at times from three that they didn't make, which thank the Lord. They were 6-for-29, 20 percent, they took almost half of their shots from three. Again, some of them were good looks that didn't go in. I thought our team defense was incredible. I thought we did a great job of taking care of the ball against a team that really gets after it defensively."

"I thought Tyson Carter again was magical down the stretch. You go back and look at our team at Arkansas, he was unbelievable. The end of the game against South Carolina at home, he was great. Again today, putting the ball and letting him make plays down the stretch. I thought Nick Weatherspoon's three was a huge play late in the game, especially after he airballed one earlier in the half. To have the toughness mentally and the belief and all the work he's put in to make that shot, that was huge. I thought Abdul Ado's block with 30 seconds to go on [Dru] Smith's drive was just a huge pivotal play. I think was a four-point game at that time if I'm not mistaken."

"I love Tyson Carter's routine at the foul line. That's a pro routine – the way you slow down, take the deep breath and really take your time like your team is depending on you to win the game. That's exactly how he handles each and every one of those free throws. So, I'm just really happy for our team. We shot a very good percentage, 53 percent. Again, we took care of the basketball. The six blocks were huge. Reggie Perry has got back-to-back games now with two blocks. Abdul had two, but he changes a lot of those shots with his length and his toughness around the goal."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
After four ties and nine lead changes during the opening 12 minutes, Mississippi State ripped off a 10-2 run over a 2:12 span.

Nick Weatherspoon ignited the spurt with a deep two-pointer on the left wing. Reggie Perry added a traditional three-point play off an offensive rebound putback, D.J. Stewart Jr. hit a runner in the lane and Stewart Jr. connected with Robert Woodard II for a right wing three-pointer to make it 27-20 with 6:17 remaining.

The Bulldogs grabbed their largest lead of the first half, 41-31 with 1:24 left, when Stewart Jr. buried a right corner trey courtesy of a penetrating Weatherspoon. Mississippi State would take a 41-34 lead into the locker room.

Missouri scored six of the first eight points to begin the second half and pulled within 43-40 on a Xavier Pinson triple at the 15:18 mark.

The Bulldogs regrouped behind eight straight points to balloon the advantage back to 51-40 with 12:17 to go. Tyson Carter started the flurry and was all-bottoms on a midrange jumper from the right elbow. Then, Woodard II sank a 10-foot turnaround jumper in the game and added a layup. A Perry bucket wrapped up the 8-0 run.

The Tigers countered with nine consecutive points of their own to bring the score to 51-49 on a Mitchell Smith dunk with 9:57 remaining.

All square at 53-53 with 8:20 left, Perry worked his way to tipin to put Mississippi State back ahead. Then, Nick Weatherspoon went coast-to-coast for a transition layup to stretch the lead to four and drained a right wing triple to vault the Bulldogs up 62-55 at the 4:32 mark.

Missouri got as close as two points, 63-61, inside the last two minutes. The Tigers had an opportunity to take the lead, but Dru Smith misfired on a three-pointer.

Mississippi State cashed in as Carter drove to the bucket and converted on a finger roll layup to extend the lead back to four points. He tacked on two critical free throws after an Abdul Ado block with 31.7 seconds on the clock. Missouri got a basket from Dru Smith for the final margin of 67-63.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State wraps up a stretch of eight road games over a 12-game span since Jan. 25 with another trip to Columbia. This time, the Bulldogs take on South Carolina on Tuesday with tip time scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT from Colonial Life Arena. 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.