STARKVILLE — Quinndary Weatherspoon and Nick Weatherspoon combined for 40 points to fuel a balanced attack of five players in double figures Friday night in the No. 18 Mississippi State men’s basketball team’s 95-67 victory against Austin Peay at Humphrey Coliseum.
“I thought that was a good team that we beat tonight,” MSU coach Ben Howland said. “I was really pleased overall. Having studied them on film, they have five seniors. They have toughness. They’re hard to play against because of the way they pressure your leads and make it hard to make any kind of pass. I thought that our guys did a good job defensively. When you look at the numbers, to hold them to 39 percent and only 21 (percent) from three, that was very good.”
Quinndary Weatherspoon had a game-high 21 points on 10-for-15 shooting. He also had five rebounds and two steals. The 21 points enabled him to surpass Jarvis Varnardo (2007-10) on MSU’s all-time scoring list into 16th place.
Nick Weatherspoon had 19 points on 6-for-10 from the field and had four assists. The 19 points are his second-highest scoring output as a Bulldog.
Aric Holman had his 10th career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. He also had three blocks.
Abdul Ado added 11 points, four rebounds, and three blocked shots, while Lamar Peters had six points and seven assists (one turnover).
Former Columbus High School standout Robert Woodard II had eight points and five rebounds. Freshman Reggie Perry had five points in his debut.
“Aric (Holman) did a good job on the glass,” Howland said. “I thought our guard play was very good. I thought Lamar was really good handling that pressure. Quinndary Weatherspoon and Nick Weatherspoon played very well, and Tyson (Carter) gave us great minutes off the bench, so we had very good guard play. I thought Robert Woodard (II) gave us a very good performance playing both the three and a four. It’s a good first win against a tough team.”
Leading 17-13, MSU used a 9-2 run for a 26-15 lead. A 3-pointer by Nick Weatherspoon and follow-up dunk by Woodard II were the big blows. A layup by Carter capped the run.
Austin Peay (1-1) closed within 27-23 before MSU reeled off a 17-7 spurt. Peters had two assists, a 3-pointer, and an old-fashioned 3-point play in the run. Woodard II also made a 3-pointer.
The Bulldogs shot 55.9 percent from the field in the first half and led 50-34 at halftime.
The Bulldogs finished with 28 points off the bench. They blew the game open with a 13-3 lead midway through the second half. A layup by Quinndary Weatherspoon capped the run and gave the Bulldogs a 71-51 lead.
MSU was 37-for-64 from the field (57.8 percent), 7-for-25 from 3-point range (28), and 14-for-18 shots from the free-throw line (77.8). Austin Peay was 23-for-59 from the field (39), 3-for-14 from 3-point range (21.4), and 18-for-26 from the foul line (69.2).
MSU held a 35-34 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 16 assists and 12 turnovers, while the Governors had five assists and 18 turnovers.
Steve Harris led Austin Peay with 17 points, Terry Taylor had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Dayton Gumm had 14, and Chris Porter-Bunton added 11 points from Chris Porter-Bunton.
NOTE: MSU has won all four of its season openers under Ben Howland by an average of 19.5 points per game.
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