STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State men’s basketball team had its first glimpse of life without leading scorer Quinndary Weatherspoon on Friday night.
It wasn’t pretty.
Playing for the first time since the squad’s leading scorer was announced out for the remainder of the season, MSU failed to string together enough defense stops in an 87-73 loss to Lehigh at Humphrey Coliseum.
“He is our heart and soul on offense,” MSU senior guard I.J. Ready said. “He is also such a key part of what we are doing on defense. He is like our defensive leader out there. We just have to go back now and find a new identity without him.”
Weatherspoon, who was averaging 18.8 points per game, was hurt last weekend in the second of three games at the Gildan Charleston Classic. MSU reported a possible tear to the Scapholunate ligament, which will require surgery. He still played in the final game in Charleston, South Carolina, before being ruled out for the season this past week.
“I was very concerned about where this game fell on the schedule,” MSU coach Ben Howland said. “Lehigh has a very good basketball team. They have a bunch of juniors and seniors who have been together. They are picked to win (the Patriot League). They can shoot the basketball.
“We are coming off a long trip and now we are playing without Q, so we knew going in, we had a lot of factors working against us. We have to find a way to make the most out of this situation. I thought we competed, but we really didn’t do a lot on the defensive end.”
In Weatherspoon’s absence, the Bulldogs shot 41.3 percent from the field. They placed five players in double figures and had a decent assists-to-turnover ratio (eight assists, 10 turnovers).
I.J. Ready scored 20 points, while Tyson Carter added 16 for MSU (3-2). Mario Kegler had 12, followed by Lamar Peters (11) and Aric Holman (10).
That wasn’t nearly enough to slow down a Lehigh team that shot 51.5 percent from the field and used a height advantage for a plus-seven rebounding edge. In the second half, Lehigh shot 56.3 percent and scored 49 points.
“Q was our best help-side defender,” Carter said. “Some of that was lacking in this game. We have to keep our heads up and keep working. We got to go back to the practice court and change some things up. The team will need a new identity and a new leader.”
Despite the shortcomings, MSU built a 17-14 lead with 12 minutes, 41 seconds left in the first half.
Lehigh changed to a zone defense and the Bulldogs went more than 10 minutes before hitting another field goal.
“We will see a lot of zone now, and it’s something we have to prepare for,” Howland said. “Lehigh is not a zone team, but they knew it would be something we might struggle with.”
Typically, Weatherspoon could have found more open looks against the zone. The team’s leading 3-point shooter also could have helped the Bulldogs match scores on a night where that looked necessary.
Other than that 10-minute struggle (three made free throws during that stretch), the teams played on virtually even terms. Lehigh eased out to a 38-29 advantage at halftime.
In the second half, the Bulldogs had few answers, as the Mountain Hawks excelled in the lane and hit 5 of 12 3-pointers.
A 3-pointer by Lamar Peters and a basket by Ready brought the Bulldogs within seven early in the second half. However, Lehigh (2-2) only had one stretch of three-straight possessions without points and was never really threatened the rest of the way.
“We will be a better basketball team as the season progresses,” Howland said. “I thought we had a better understanding of some things on the offensive end in the second half. We couldn’t put enough pressure on them to make it a tight game.”
The Bulldogs already were playing a home friendly schedule to help ease several first-year players into the Division I college experience. That will help as the Bulldogs re-tool without Weatherspoon.
MSU will play host to Northwestern State at 6 p.m. Monday (SEC Network) and Oregon State at 8 p.m. Thursday (ESPNU).
“There is a lot of season left,” Carter said. “We have to learn from our mistakes and grow up quickly.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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