JACKSON — Xavian Stapleton spent a few hours Monday night acknowledging well-wishers on Twitter.
After not playing competitive basketball for 18 months, the Mississippi State sophomore guard wanted to savor his return to the court for as long as possible.
Stapleton scored eight points, had a rebound, a blocked shot, and two steals in 11 minutes as part of the MSU men’s basketball team’s 86-44 victory against Southern Mississippi in the inaugural Capital City Showdown before a MSU-dominant crowd of 4,031 at Mississippi Coliseum.
“We call him the Sniper for a reason,” MSU freshman guard Lamar Peters said. “He sniped tonight. (Singleton) just brings a high level of energy to everything he does. You want to watch that. You want to be a part of that. He makes us better.”
Stapleton played his freshman season at Louisiana Tech. The former Madison Central standout then had to sit out last season because of NCAA transfer rules. Two knee surgeries followed and his return to the court helped give the Bulldog faithful a glimpse into what might be coming.
“It just felt great to be out there,” Stapleton said. “For the better part of the last 18 months, I have been part of this program but I couldn’t do anything. The rehab has been so hard. Some days it makes you question if you really want to do this anymore. On a night like tonight, it all feels worth it.”
MSU hit a school-record 17 3-pointers and blew open a tight game with a 35-0 run in the second half.
“I have never been a part of a 35-0 run,” MSU sophomore guard Quinndary Weatherspoon said. “I really didn’t know we had done that until coach (Ben) Howland told us after the game. I guess that is really something else.”
Howland has coached several elite teams in his standout career. He also couldn’t recall anything close to what happened in the second half.
“The defensive pressure was great,” Howland said. “That is how you have a 35-0 run. I really didn’t know how large the run was, but I knew (Southern Miss) was stuck on 29 (points) for quite some time.”
Southern Miss (3-6) pulled within 41-29 on a basket with 18 minutes, 28 seconds remaining. The Golden Eagles didn’t score again until a 3-pointer made the score 76-32 with 5:33 left. The basket drew a mock applause from the MSU faithful and ended a streak of 19-straight misses.
“When we put our minds to being a good defensive team, we can be really good,” Stapleton said. “I was happy to be out there helping my teammates out. Special things are coming. We are about ready to take off.”
Howland called Monday’s effort “clearly the best we’ve played all season.” He said the victory — which came five days after a home loss to East Tennessee State — shows the capability of this team once the unit meshes.
“I am very happy to get this win, and I am very proud at how well we played,” Howland said. “I am even more proud of the fact we have had a full complement of players at practice each day this past weekend. Final exams are over, and we have been able to go hard in the gym and we have been able to work on getting better.
“Everybody is here now. For the most part, everybody is healthy now. We can take some real positive steps towards building the kind of program we want to have.”
MSU (7-3) scored the first six points and never trailed. The margin of victory was the largest in this series, and tied for the 10th most in program history. Reserves Drew Davis and Joe Strugg even got into the act late, with two and one 3-pointer respectively.
Weatherspoon led the Bulldogs with 16 points. Peters added 15, while freshman Tyson Carter had 11. Freshman Schnider Heard had a career-high 12 rebounds, while sophomore Aric Holman matched a career high with 11.
“I thought we did a great job of sharing the basketball,” Weatherspoon said. “The big men were having a good day underneath, so we got them some touches. The guards were making shots. We started out a little slow, but the confidence built once we made some shots.”
Howland appreciated 21 assists on 29 baskets. Weatherspoon was 4 of 4 from deep, Carter was 3 of 5 and Peters was 4 of 7.
“Our sharing of the basketball was special,” Howland said. “We are still talking about the youngest team in Division I basketball. If you can get the buy in on defense, you can be special.”
The Bulldogs have won 14 of their last 15 games at the Mississippi Coliseum.
Weatherspoon, who played basketball at Velma Jackson High School, enjoyed his return trip home. Howland said each year the Weatherspoon family reunion is close to 300 people. A large group of family and friends were there to support Q on Monday night.
Stapleton also had some magical high school moments in the building, as did Carter, who carried Starkville to two state championship game appearances in the Big House.
“This is an excellent series for both programs,” Howland said. “We play Ole Miss twice a year and now we have Southern Miss once a year. This is good for basketball in our state. We have a lot of fans in the Jackson area, but we also have a lot of players with ties to this area.
“A lot of our guys have some great memories of playing in this place. They are motivated to come back here and put on a show. It’s good to relive some of those memories. It’s good to give those kids a chance to make some new ones, too.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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