Video: Mississippi State Falls in Waning Moments vs. No. 15 Florida

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI/MSU Athletics) – Mississippi State’s last shot to defeat a ranked opponent at home in the regular season ended in another heart-breaker.

No. 13 Florida scored the go-ahead basket in the final couple of minutes and held on for a 57-52 win against MSU before a crowd of 7,980 at Humphrey Coliseum Saturday.

The Bulldogs fought all the way back from a 12-point deficit to tie the contest at 52 on a dunk by Aric Holman with 2:24 left. Kevarrius Hayes then scored the go-ahead basket for Florida with 1:57 left. The Bulldogs missed their final four shots from the field.

Florida has now won eight-straight conference games and seven-straight games in this series. The Gators improved to 22-5 overall and 12-2 in league play, while the Bulldogs fell to 14-12 and 5-9.

Quinndary Weatherspoon was the lone Bulldog in double figures with 17 points. Lamar Peters and Holman added eight points apiece. Schnider Herard and Holman each had seven rebounds apiece.

“Our defensive intensity, especially to start the game, was really good,” MSU coach Ben Howland said. “We were stuck on 13 points for about six minutes. We had some opportunities to knock down some open shots. Our defense was good enough today. We did a great job, fighting to get back.”

Despite not shooting the ball well, the Bulldogs got off to a good start. A layup by Xavian Stapleton pushed the Bulldogs to a 13-7 lead less than eight minutes into the contest.

Florida scored seven straight points to battle back for a 14-13 lead. The lead switched hands a couple of times before the Gators surged ahead.

Florida used an 8-1 run to build a 32-22 lead with 1:05 left in the half. A basket by Holman as the half expired brought the Bulldogs within 32-24.

In the second half, the Bulldogs hit their first 3-pointer as Peters brought the Bulldogs within 34-31 with 18:17 left.

Florida used a 9-0 run to take the game’s largest lead at 12 points at 43-31 with 13:13 left.

The Bulldogs slowly crept back with a critical sequence involving Peters hitting a free throw, missing a second, I.J. Ready rebounding and Mario Kegler scoring. That possession brought the Bulldogs within 50-48 with 3:51 left.

Holman would later score back-to-back baskets to tie the contest.

For the contest, MSU hit 22 of 61 shots from the field (36.1 percent), 2 of 23 shots from 3-point range (8.7 percent) and 6 of 13 shots from the foul line (46.2 percent). Florida hit 20 of 52 shots from the field (38.5 percent), 5 of 18 shots from 3-point range (27.8 percent) and 12 of 19 shots from the foul line (63.2 percent).

Florida held a 42-38 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had eight assists and 12 turnovers, while the Gators had five assists and 16 turnovers.

Florida received 14 points from Chris Chiozza and 11 points from KeVaughn Allen.

MSU remains at home Tuesday night for a battle with in-state rival Ole Miss. The Bulldogs and Rebels tip at 8 p.m. on ESPN2 from the Humphrey Coliseum.