STARKVILLE — I.J. Ready was the last Bulldog through the post-game handshake line.
As Ready turned to his right to return to the locker room, he untucked his cream jersey and shook his head as a teammate wrapped an arm around him.
As the only senior on the Mississippi State men’s basketball team, Ready is running out of time. He doesn’t want to talk about next season or the future of the MSU program. He also doesn’t want to discuss how the youngest team in the nation has stayed with nationally ranked teams like South Carolina and Florida into the final minutes only to lose.
None of that helps Ready.
On Tuesday, Ready tried to script a different ending by scoring eight points in the final 78 seconds of regulation — including the tying layup in the final seconds — to force overtime. But Ready’s work went for naught as Ole Miss swept the season series with an 87-82 victory at Humphrey Coliseum.
“He’s a senior playing with a senior sense of urgency, and he keeps driving us at the end,” Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. “We’re clock watching as opposed to getting stops. I.J. started driving us downhill and we could never get him stopped to close the game in regulation.”
Ready also had a defensive rebound, a steal, and an assist on a Lamar Peters 3-pointer in the final 1:18. Playing at the level under that pressure, MSU coach Ben Howland let Ready determine the course the Bulldogs took at the end of regulation. With less than seven seconds remaining, Ready received an inbounds pass, worked around a ball screen, and drove the right side of the lane, easily beating his defender for the tying layup.
“We were fortunate to get the turnover, and he knew it would be smart to go to the basket and finish well,” Howland said. “It was a big play; really, really big.”
Ready’s surge generated momentum MSU couldn’t sustain. Ole Miss scored the first 10 points in overtime and didn’t let MSU get closer than four points.
“I can’t answer that. We did so much to get it back and get it to overtime and couldn’t seize that momentum,” Howland said.
Ready, who had a season-high 20 points, five assists, five rebounds, and three steals in a team-high 40 minutes, blamed himself.
“I don’t think I’m bringing enough to the table every night,” Ready said while reflecting on his team’s five-game losing streak. Ready has played in only three of those games (two starts). “I bring leadership — that’s what I’m supposed to do — but I think I need to bring more helping rebound, scoring at times and bring it together. I don’t think I’m doing enough for the team.”
MSU (14-13, 5-10 Southeastern Conference) committed 13 of its season-high 22 turnovers in the first half. Although Ole Miss only scored 18 points off the miscues, the possessions without a shot tilted the advantage to Ole Miss. In the first half, for example, Ole Miss trailed by two points despite shooting 24 percent from the field.
“We got a little too cute with the ball in the first half,” Howland said. “Some of those turnovers were no-look passes and such where we have to make better decisions. It felt like our turnovers in the second half, although they weren’t nearly as many, and long misses off the three led to some easy baskets in transition by Ole Miss.”
MSU’s most pivotal turnover came in the middle of an Ole Miss run that started overtime. On MSU’s second possession of overtime, Ole Miss point guard Breein Tyree intercepted a pass from Mario Kegler and took it for a layup through a foul. Tyree’s ensuing layup gave Ole Miss a five-point lead less than a minute into overtime.
Tyree led Ole Miss (17-11, 8-7) with a career-high 24 points. Senior Sebastian Saiz had 23 points and 10 rebounds. Terence Davis has 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Deandre Burnett had 10 points for Ole Miss, which has won five of its last seven games.
n MSU, Pichaikool tie for third at Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate: At Mobile, Alabama, the Mississippi State men’s golf team claimed its fourth top-five finish Tuesday when it tied for third at the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate.
Led by freshman Peng Pichaikool, MSU totaled a final-round 291. Pichaikool shot a 1-over-par 73 over the final 18 holes to tie for third.
Jackson Dick tied for 19th following a final-round 73. Junior Taylor Grant fired a 71 to finish 22nd. Garrett Johnson finished 23rd after shooting a 74. Ross Bell carded a 74 to finish 34th.
Georgia State’s Alexander Herrmann won the individual title, while Louisville won the team side of the event.
MSU had four participants in the USA Individual Tournament, which was held at the same time as the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate. Taylor Bibbs tied for first after shooting a final round 7-over-par 78. He carded a 73 and 65 in Monday’s opening two rounds to finish with a 3-over-par 216. Junior Jacob Ross shot a final-round 75 to tie for fifth. Austin Rose carded a final-round 78 to tie for 16th. Ben Follett-Smith shot a final-round 79 to tie for 22nd.
n MSU’s Yang will be featured on Golf Channel: At Starkville, Last year, MSU women’s golfer Athena Yang was selected to receive the ANNIKA Foundation ACE Grant from the American Junior Golf Association.
The grant is awarded in an effort to continue combating the cost of playing a national junior golf schedule for players without the financial resources. The AJGA entered its 14th year of implementing the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program in 2016.
The grant also exposes players to collegiate coaches. It was able to connect Yang to MSU coach Ginger Brown-Lemm, which helped her find a home at MSU.
The Golf Channel has been doing a series on former recipients of the award. It recently caught up with Yang in Orlando, Florida, during the UCF Challenge.
The interview will air at 2 p.m., 3 p.m., and 7 p.m. today.
Yang is a freshman at MSU and has been an immediate contributor. She fired a season-low 218 at the UCF Challenge this season.
n MSU women’s tennis team will play Minnesota: At Starkville, the MSU women’s tennis team (5-1) will close a four-match homestand at 2 p.m. today against Minnesota at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
MSU will look to extend a three-match winning streak after blanking South Alabama 4-0 and downing Alcorn State 6-1 on Sunday.
Freshmen Lisa Marie Rioux and Sara Lizariturry are 5-0 and 3-0, respectively in their initial seasons. Rioux teams up with senior Jasmine Lee to form the nation’s No. 8 doubles tandem. The duo has posted a 5-1 dual match record at the No. 1 position and are 13-2 overall.
In singles side, Lee, who is No. 73, leads the team at No. 1 with a 5-1 record. Sophomore Anastasia Rentouli posted her third dual match victory of the season Sunday, while junior Madison Harrison notched her second. Junior Jennifer Brown rounds out the lineup.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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