Peters, Weatherspoon Combine for 52 Points in Mississippi State’s Win Over Missouri

(Photo Courtesy: Kelly Price, MSU Athletics)

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI/MSU Athletics) – Quinndary Weatherspoon kept the Mississippi State basketball team alive for a large stretch of time Wednesday night.

Teammate Lamar Peters then pushed the Bulldogs to victory.

Weatherspoon scored a career-high 29 points and Peters added 23 points (20 in the second half) as MSU knocked off Missouri 89-74 at Humphrey Coliseum.

MSU improved to 13-6 overall and 4-3 in league play, while Missouri fell to 5-14 and 0-7. The Bulldogs have beaten the Tigers four straight times for the first time in series history.

“Our second half defensively keyed the comeback,” MSU coach Ben Howland said. “They shot 61 percent in the first half and 32 percent in the second half. That fed our offense. Q was the only one who had anything going for us in the first half. He kept us in the game.”

In the opening half, Missouri shot 61.5 percent from the field with seven 3-pointers. The Tigers led 43-39 at halftime.

In the second half, Peters hit five-straight 3-pointers and six overall to pull away to the victory.

Mario Kegler was also in double figures as he matched a career-high with 16 points. Weatherspoon had a team-high eight rebounds and four assists. Aric Holman had four blocked shots.

Missouri began its strong 3-point shooting early, quickly building a 13-6 lead. The Bulldogs closed within one twice on a 3-pointer by Peters and a layup by Weatherspoon. Missouri answered with another pair of 3-pointers for a 27-20 lead.

A layup by Mario Kegler brought the Bulldogs within 29-28. Missouri followed with an 8-0 run for a 41-32 lead.

Weatherspoon had 18 first-half points but the Bulldogs still trailed 43-39 at the break.

“In the second half, Lamar really took over,” Howland said. “He had foul trouble in the first half so he wasn’t a factor. I.J. Ready and Mario Kegler both played very well. They made some key plays for us.”

The Bulldogs took the lead for good at 47-46 after a layup by Weatherspoon with 16:23 left. Weatherspoon followed with a 3-point basket and Xavian Stapleton added a layup for a 54-47 lead. Missouri closed within three before Kegler hit a 3-pointer and Peters followed with 15-straight points for his team thanks to five 3-point baskets.

Peters hit another 3-pointer to push the lead to 84-69 with 2:08 left.

For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 32-of-56 shots from the field (57.1 percent), 12-of-23 shots from 3-point range (52.2 percent) and 13-of-25 shots from the foul line (52.0 percent). The Tigers were 25-54 from the field (46.3 percent), 7- 21 from 3-point range (33.3 percent) and 17- 23 shots from the foul line (73.9 percent).

Missouri held a 32-30 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 16 assists and 7 turnovers, while the Tigers had 10 assists and 10 turnovers.

Missouri received 18 points each from Jordan Barnett and Jordan Geist, as well as 13 points from Kevin Puryear. Barnett had a team-high eight rebounds.

MSU returns to the road for a Saturday contest at Alabama. The Bulldogs and Crimson Tide meet at 5 p.m. from the Coleman Coliseum on the SEC Network.