WACO, Texas — Quinndary Weatherspoon’s 3-pointer bounced off the front of the rim and fell through the net at the buzzer Sunday afternoon to lift the Mississippi State men’s basketball team to a 78-77 victory against Baylor in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.
“I shot it with confidence, and it ended up falling,” Weatherspoon told Baylor Bear Foundation. “I thought I shot it (too) hard. It was short, and I was able to get the shooter’s roll. They have soft rims, so I appreciate that.”
Aric Holman’s blocked shot led to a fast break and Weatherspoon sank a 3-pointer to pull to 71-70. Terry Maston answered with a baseline jumper and banked in a shot on Baylor’s next possession to make it 75-72.
After a timeout, Lamar Peters found Tyson Carter open in the corner for a 3-pointer to tie it at 75 with 34.8 seconds remaining. Manu Lecomte worked the clock down, drove the lane and made a contested floater off the glass with 5.1 remaining. Weatherspoon inbounded it and Peters found him trailing the play for a 3-pointer.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a shot go straight up and straight down before, but that’s what happened,” Baylor coach Scott Drew told Baylor Bear Foundation.
Carter led MSU (24-11) with five 3-pointers and 19 points. Weatherspoon had 13 points and Peters had nine points and 10 assists.
MSU has recorded its most wins in a season since 2010.
Maston had 26 points to lead Baylor (19-15). Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. added 17 points and eight rebounds.
Lual-Acuil gave Baylor its first lead, 58-57, on a put-back dunk to cap a 17-2 third-quarter run. The Bears, who trailed by 20 points in the first half, led by nine points with 4:40 to go in the fourth quarter.
Nick Weatherspoon’s return to the lineup and some strong 3-point
shooting energized the Bulldogs early.
An 8-0 run helped stake the Bulldogs to a 16-7 lead late in the first quarter. The Bears followed with eight-straight points before the Bulldogs scored the final eight points off a turnover-free quarter for a 24-15 lead. The last run included a dunk by Xavian Stapleton, a 3-pointer by Stapleton, and a 3-pointer by Carter.
The run stretched to 15-0 to start the second quarter, as the Bulldogs built a 31-15 lead with 8:26 left in the half. A 3-pointer by Carter made it 40-20 with 4:22 left in the half.
MSU hit eight 3-pointers in the first half and led 47-33 at halftime. Stapleton had 15 first-half points.
“I can’t remember the last time we scored 47 in a half. It’s been a while,” MSU coach Ben Howland told Baylor Bear Foundation. “That’s a lot of points against a very good zone like Baylor.”
n Louisville 84, Middle Tennessee 68: At Louisville, Kentucky, Ray Spalding scored 18 points, Jordan Nwora added 17 and Louisville cruised into the NIT quarterfinals with a victory against Middle Tennessee on Sunday.
Ryan McMahon chipped in with 15 points and V.J. King 13 for Louisville (22-13), which will face MSU (24-11) on Tuesday night. Nwora and McMahon each made four of the Cardinals’ 11 3-pointers.
Deng Adel, Louisville’s leading scorer at 15.6 points, was scoreless in 21 minutes — with just one shot attempt — to remain 13 points shy of becoming the 69th 1,000-point scorer in program history.
McMahon and Spalding combined to score 23 of Louisville’s 41 first-half points. The Cardinals shot 55 percent from the field in the half with 7-of-13 shooting from distance.
Conference USA player of the year Nick King scored 24 points and Brandon Walters added 16 for Middle Tennessee (25-8). Giddy Potts, who scored 25 points in the opening round, and Antwain Johnson each scored 10.
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