Bulldogs Drop OT Heartbreaker At Missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. (MSU Athletics) – Even with scoring the final 12 points in regulation play, Mississippi State could not complete the epic comeback, falling 89-85 to Missouri in SEC men’s basketball action Saturday at Mizzou Arena.

MSU saw a four-game winning streak snapped It was the largest conference win streak since the 2008 season. The Bulldogs felt to 18-7 overall and 6-6 in league play. Missouri improved to 17-8 and 7-5, while earning a series split.

Lamar Peters led the Bulldogs with 22 points and seven assists. Nick Weatherspoon followed with 15 points, while Aric Holman scored 14 points. Quinndary Weatherspoon had 13 points, while Abdul Ado had 11 points. Holman had eight rebounds, while Ado had seven boards.

“Proud of the guys,” MSU head coach Ben Howland said. “To fight and keep competing on the road in a difficult environment is great. We had a five-point lead there in overtime. Missouri is really good. We had a lot of great efforts individually. As a team, we competed. You have to do that on the road. You have to compete the whole way and give yourself a chance. This effort will help us for the rest of the season.”

Overtime did not look likely when the Bulldogs trailed 79-67 with 1:37 left in regulation. Back-to-back layups by Quinndary Weatherspoon and Peters started the run. The Bulldogs had success with full-court pressure.

Peters had a three-point play, before Holman was fouled on a putback and hit two free throws. Peters hit a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left to tie the contest. The Bulldogs held defensively to force overtime.

In the overtime, the Bulldogs built a five-point lead on a 3-pointer by Holman. After Ado hit one free throw, the Tigers took the lead for good with a 3-pointer on the other end with 10 seconds left. Peters was called for an offensive foul denying the Bulldogs a chance to take the lead back.

In the first half, both teams started strong offensively. The Bulldogs hit three 3-pointers early before the lead switched hands several times. Missouri would eventually build a nine-point lead three times, including 42-33 at halftime.

A 3-pointer by Nick Weatherspoon sparked a 7-0 run as the Bulldogs were within 47-46 with 14:13 left. Missouri would hang tight and hold some type of lead the rest of the half before the late flurry by MSU.

For the contest, MSU hit 31 of 69 shots from the field (44.9 percent), 11 of 31 shots from 3-point range (35.5 percent) and 12 of 18 shots from the foul line (66.7 percent). Missouri hit 27 of 56 shots from the field (48.2 percent), 12 of 26 shots from 3-point range (46.2 percent) and 23 of 28 shots from the foul line (82.1 percent).

MSU held a 35-33 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 12 assists and 11 turnovers, while the Tigers had 15 assists and 12 turnovers.

Missouri received 22 points from Kassius Robertson, 17 points from Jordan Geist, 15 points from Jordan Barnett, 13 points from Kevin Puryear and 10 points from Jontay Porter. Barnett had a team-high eight rebounds for the Tigers.

MSU remains the road for a Wednesday contest at Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs Commodores tip at 6 p.m. CT on the SEC Network from Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tennessee.