No. 18 Men’s Hoops Blitzes Austin Peay, 95-67
STARKVILLE – Quinndary Weatherspoon and Nick Weatherspoon combined for 40 points to fuel a balanced attack of five players in double figures, and No. 18 Mississippi State registered a 95-67 victory over Austin Peay at Humphrey Coliseum on Friday.
The Bulldogs (1-0) have won all four of their season openers under Ben Howland by an average of 19.5 points per game.
Quinndary Weatherspoon amassed a game-leading 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting. He also grabbed five rebounds and added two steals. The 21 points enabled him to surpass Jarvis Varnardo (2007-08-09-10) on MSU’s all-time scoring list into 16th place.
Nick Weatherspoon tacked on 19 points on 6-of-10 from the floor and handed out four assists. The 19 points are his second highest scoring output in the Maroon and White.
On the interior, Aric Holman corralled his 10th career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. He also registered three blocks.
Abdul Ado chipped in 11 points, four rebounds and three blocks, while Lamar Peters came away with six points and distributed seven assists against one turnover.
Robert Woodard II turned in eight points and five rebounds followed by Reggie Perry’s five points during their career debuts.
FROM THE BENCH WITH COACH HOWLAND“I thought that was a good team that we beat tonight. I was really pleased overall. Having studied them on film, they have five seniors. They have toughness. They’re hard to play against because of the way they pressure your leads and make it hard to make any kind of pass. I thought that our guys did a good job defensively. When you look at the numbers, to hold them to 39 percent and only 21 (percent) from three, that was very good.”
“Aric (Holman) did a good job on the glass, with 10 [points] and 10 [rebounds] – 10 rebounds, nine of them defensively. I thought our guard play was very good tonight. I thought Lamar, seven assists and one turnover, was really good handling that pressure that they were applying to us. Quinndary Weatherspoon and Nick Weatherspoon played very well and Tyson gave us great minutes off the bench. So, we had very good guard play. I thought that Robert Woodard (II) gave us a very good performance playing both the three and a four. It’s a good first win against a tough team.”
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Leading 17-13, the Bulldogs pieced together a 9-2 run for a 26-15 lead. A 3-pointer by Nick Weatherspoon and follow-up dunk by Robert Woodard II were the big blows during the run. A layup by Tyson Carter capped the run.
Austin Peay (1-1) closed within 27-23 before the Bulldogs reeled off a 17-7 spurt. Lamar Peters had a pair of assists, along with a 3-point basket and an old-fashioned 3-point play during the run. Woodard II also made a 3-point basket.
The Bulldogs shot 55.9 percent in the first half and led 50-34 at halftime.
The Bulldogs finished with 28 points off the bench and blow open the contest for good with a 13-3 lead midway through the second half. A layup by Quinndary Weatherspoon capped the run and gave the Bulldogs a 71-51 lead.
For the contest, MSU hit 37 of 64 shots from the field (57.8 percent), 7 of 25 shots from 3-point range (28.0 percent) and 14 of 18 shots from the foul line (77.8 percent). Austin Peay hit 23 of 59 shots from the field (39.0 percent), 3 of 14 shots from 3-point range (21.4 percent) and 18 of 26 shots from the foul line (69.2 percent).
MSU held a 35-34 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 16 assists and 12 turnovers, while the Governors had five assists and 18 turnovers.
Austin Peay received 17 points from Steve Harris, 15 points from Terry Taylor, 14 points from DaytonGumm and 11 points from Chris Porter-Bunton. Taylor had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
UP NEXT
Mississippi State continues its three-game homestand and meets Hartford as part of the MGM Resorts Main Event Regional Round. Sunday's tip time is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT and will be televised by SEC Network.
The Mississippi State Athletics Ticket Office is selling season tickets for as low as $199. Fans can purchase tickets online at www.HailState.com/Hoops, in person at the MSU Athletics Ticket Office located at the Bryan Athletic Building or via the phone at (662) 325-2600. Information on single-game tickets and mini plans will be announced at a later date by the ticket office.
Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching ‘HailStateMBK’ on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
