Video: MSU Men’s Basketball Finishes Regular Season With Win Over Auburn

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STARKVILLE, Miss. (MSU Athletics) – On Senior Day, a pair of freshmen stole the show for Mississippi State.

Malik Newman scored 17 points and Quinndary Weatherspoon added 16 to lead the way as MSU closed the regular season with a 79-66 win against Auburn at Humphrey Coliseum.

Seniors Craig Sword, Fred Thomas, Gavin Ware, Travis Daniels, Johnny Zuppardo and Reggie Patterson were honored in pregame ceremonies. Sword had 11 points and Ware had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds in his final home appearance in the Maroon and White.

MSU improved to 14-16 overall and 7-11 in league play. It is the most conference wins for MSU since the 2011-12 season. Auburn fell to 11-19 and 5-13. After starting league play 2-8, the Bulldogs won five of their final eight regular-season games.

MSU earns the No. 11 seed in the SEC Tournament and will play a quarterfinal round game in the conference tournament at approximately 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The contest will be televised nationally on the SEC Network.

“It was an incredible slow start,” MSU coach Ben Howland said. “The team had a lot of adrenaline. Everyone was sped up. Malik and Q came in there and really gave us a lift. Overall, it was a good win for us. Our defense in the first half was outstanding.

“Our seniors have done an incredible job. They have given us everything. The crowd support was great today. I love this building and our fans. You can tell our fans are used to good basketball. They love effort. Our guys are trying hard. I am really proud of what we are doing.”

Auburn scored the first eight points while MSU tried to get some things going. The Bulldogs finally battled back for an 11-11 tie on a Fred Thomas 3-point basket.

MSU then surged ahead with nine straight points to grab a 20-13 lead with 6:45 left in the first half. Both Weatherspoon and Newman got off to fast starts helping to ignite the rally.

Weatherspoon capped a 10-0 run with back-to-back 3-point baskets as the Bulldogs built a 32-16 lead. MSU eased into halftime with a 39-20 advantage.

In the second half, a jumper by I.J. Ready ran the lead to 41-20. Auburn responded with the game’s next eight points before a Daniels’ trey capped that run.

Auburn closed within nine at 52-43. MSU followed with five-straight points and later stretched a 10-point lead with 14-straight points. Patterson capped his MSU career with a basket during the closing minutes.

For the contest, MSU hit 26 of 62 shots from the field (41.9 percent), 11 of 25 shots from 3-point range (44.0 percent) and 16 of 23 shots from the foul line (69.6 percent). Auburn hit 25 of 59 shots from the field (42.4 percent), 7 of 19 shots from 3-point range (36.8 percent) and 9 of 16 shots from the foul line (56.3 percent).

MSU held a 43-35 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 15 assists and 16 turnovers, while the Tigers had 11 assists and 16 turnovers.

Auburn placed four players in double figures, with T.J. Lang had a team-high 16 points. Horace Spencer and Tyler Harris with 13 points apiece. Cinmeon Bowers had 10 points.