Mississippi State’s Comeback Falls Short in 7th Straight SEC Loss

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBI/MSU Athletics) – Life on the road in the Southeastern Conference dealt the Mississippi State another tough loss Tuesday night.

The Bulldogs, playing without the injured Quinndary Weatherspoon, held a lead 52-50 late but could not close the deal as South Carolina rallied to a 63-57 victory at Colonial Life Arena.

With the win, USC improved to 22-8 overall and 12-5 in league play. MSU fell to 14-15 and 5-12. The Bulldogs have now lost seven straight games. The win also allowed South Carolina to complete a two-game season sweep.

Mario Kegler led the Bulldogs with 12 points, while Tyson Carter added 11 points. Aric Holman had a team-high six rebounds, while Lamar Peters had four assists.

The Bulldogs struggled early offensively as the Gamecocks inched out to a 10-5 lead. A 3-pointer by Peters got things going and the Bulldogs built a 15-12 lead with 10:35 left in the half on two free throws by Kegler.

The lead switched hands a couple of times. A 3-pointer by Kegler put the Maroon and White on top 20-19. A tip-in by Eli Wright gave the Bulldogs a 29-26 lead.

South Carolina scored the final six points of the half for a 32-29 lead at halftime.

In the second half, the Gamecocks ran the lead to 10 at 43-33 with 14:10 left. A pair of 3-pointers by Tyson Carter helped get the Bulldogs back on the comeback trail.

Carter rammed home a trey to give the Bulldogs a 52-50 lead with 4:33 left.

South Carolina would score the game’s next seven points to take control.

For the contest, MSU hit 20 of 55 shots from the field (36.4 percent), 7 of 26 shots from 3-point range (26.9 percent) and 10 of 12 shots from the foul line (83.3 percent). South Carolina hit 17 of 50 shots from the field (34.0 percent), 4 of 19 shots from 3-point range (21.1 percent) and 25 of 34 shots from the foul line (73.5 percent).

South Carolina held a 39-31 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 10 assists and 20 turnovers, while the Gamecocks had nine assists and 16 turnovers.

Sindarius Thornwell led South Carolina with 22 points. Chris Silva added 15 points. Silva also completed a double-double as he had a team-high 11 rebounds.

MSU returns home for Senor Day against LSU. The Bulldogs and Tigers meet at 5 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum in a game televised on the SEC Network. Senor I.J. Ready will be honored in pregame ceremonies.