Bulldogs Blown Out On Road Against Vanderbilt

February 25, 2017

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WCBI / Miss. St. Athletics) – A fast start by Vanderbilt proved too much for the Mississippi State basketball team to overcome Saturday afternoon.

The Commodores shot 47 percent from the floor, rammed home 14 3-pointers and beat the Bulldogs 77-48 at Memorial Gymnasium.

With the win, Vanderbilt improved to 16-13 overall and 9-7 in league play. A sixth straight defeat sent the Bulldogs to 14-14 overall and 5-11 in league play.

Quinndary Weatherspoon was the lone Bulldog in double figures as he finished with 15 points. Aric Holman had a team-high six rebounds, while Weatherspoon had five boards.

Vanderbilt took the lead for good at 6-5 less than five minutes into the contest. Strong 3-point shooting early allowed the Commodores to stretch the advantage to 21-12 with 9:52 left in the half. The Bulldogs were back within seven on a Mario Kegler 3-pointer. The Commodores would end the half with seven straight points for a 37-23 lead at the break.

In the second half, Vanderbilt finished the run with the first eight points of the second half. A follow-up 14-0 run pushed the Commodores lead to 61-28 with 11:13 left in the contest.

For the contest, MSU hit 14 of 47 shots from the field (29.8 percent), 7 of 18 shots from 3-point range (38.9 percent) and 13 of 16 shots from the foul line (81.3 percent). Vanderbilt hit 27 of 57 shots from the field (47.4 percent), 14 of 29 shots from 3-point range (48.3 percent) and 9 of 12 shots from the foul line (75.0 percent).

Vanderbilt held a 36-29 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had seven assists and 17 turnovers, while the Commodores had 15 assists and 12 turnovers.

Vanderbilt placed three players in double figures. Jeff Roberson led the way with 23 points, while Riley LaChance added 11 points and Luke Kornet added 10 points. Kornet also had a team-high eight rebounds.

MSU remains on the road for a 6 p.m. CT start Tuesday at South Carolina. That contest will be televised nationally by ESPNU.

The regular-season finale is at 5 p.m. Saturday when LSU comes to Humphrey Coliseum for Senior Day (SEC Network).