STARKVILLE — Behind a career-high 25 points from Tyson Carter in his first start of the season, the Mississippi State men’s basketball team overcame a rough first half of 3-point shooting to beat previously unbeaten Stephen F. Austin 80-75 on Wednesday night at Humphrey Coliseum.
The win as MSU’s third in five days. MSU (4-0) will play host to Jacksonville State at 2 p.m. Sunday.
MSU trailed at halftime for the first time this season after shooting 1-for-9 from 3-point range. Carter took care of that by scoring four times in the first five minutes of the second half, three of them on layups.
“We went into halftime and we had been struggling from (3-point range),” Carter said. “They didn’t have a true five man that can block shots and they had been pressuring.”
Sophomore guard Lamar Peters, who scored a team-high 18 points in Monday’s win over Green Bay, didn’t play. Television and radio crews reported during the game he was out for a violation of team rules. Carter started in his place.
The seams MSU exploited through the middle helped it hit four of its six 3-pointers in a three-minute stretch late in the second half.
MSU also exploited its inside game to put Stephen F. Austin (4-1) in foul trouble. Two Lumberjacks fouled out as the Bulldogs were 26-for-35 from the free-throw line. Quinndary Weatherspoon led the way by going 11-for-14 from the free-throw line.
Carter added six rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Weatherspoon had 20 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and two steals. Aric Holman had 10 points and three blocked shots.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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