Mississippi State Men’s Basketball Drops Nail-biter Against Rival Ole Miss

STARKVILLE, Miss. — No. 14 Mississippi State men’s basketball team dropped a close one against rival Ole Miss Saturday afternoon as they fell 81-77 at Humphrey Coliseum.

The Bulldogs drop to 12-3 (0-2 SEC), while the Rebels improve 13-2 (3-0 SEC). Ole Miss has now won 10 straight games.

Nick Weatherspoon hit a game-tying three with 1:12 remaining in the game to tie it at 77-77 before an Ole Miss layup by Breein Tyree gave the Rebels a 79-77 lead.

Quinndary Weatherspoon then missed a jumper, which lead to Ole Miss missing a one-and-one free throw that was rebounded by MSU’s Abdul Ado. However, the Bulldogs failed to capitalize as Lamar Peters missed a jumper that led to a Bulldog turnover. Tyree hit two game-clinching free throws to give the Rebels the 81-77 win.

The first half saw six lead changes, but Mississippi State held a 41-39 lead at halftime, led by 11 points from Quinndary Weatherspoon. The Bulldogs also received 11 points from the bench in the half.

MSU scored the first seven points of the second half, as the Bulldogs led 48-39 with 18:01 remaining, but back to back to back three’s from Rebels’ Blake Hinson saw the Rebels climb back to make it a 54-51 game with State leading. Ole Miss took a 56-55 with 12:31 left.

Ole Miss led 70-62 with 7:01 remaining before the Bulldogs cut it to 72-69 off of an Aric Holman three pointer.

MSU had their chances late in the game, but it was the Rebels who secured the Southeastern Conference win.

Quinndary Weatherspoon led the team with 18 points on 6-12 shooting. Peters and Nick Weatherspoon also turned in double-digit scoring performances with 16 and 11 respectively.

The Bulldogs held a 38-30 rebounding advantage, out-rebounding the Rebels both offensively and defensively. Ado led the Bulldogs with 11 rebounds while Quinndary Weatherspoon compiled eight boards.

Hinson led the Rebels with a career-high 26 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including a career-high five made threes.

The Bulldogs will be back in action Tuesday when they host the Florida Gators as they hope to secure their first SEC win. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be televised by SEC Network.