Mississippi State holds off hot-shooting Radford, 77-68

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Reggie Perry had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead Mississippi State past Radford 77-68 on Wednesday.

The Bulldogs (8-2) also received a double-double from Abdul Ado, who had season highs with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Robert Woodard also had 17 points and nine rebounds for Mississippi State while D.J. Stewart added 10 points.

Carlik Jones led Radford (3-7) with 15 points. Donald Hicks had 12 points and Chryee Walker added 10.

Mississippi State jumped out to an early 10-3 advantage following a long 3 pointer by Woodard. But that’s when Radford got hot beyond the arc and did not cool off the rest of the half. The Highlanders made four staight 3 pointers to highlight a 22-7 run and held a 28-19 lead with 8:29 left in the half.

Mississippi State kept chipping away at the Radford lead and cut the deficit to 31-29 following a Perry 3-point play. But Jones drilled another 3 to beat the halftime buzzer and Radford led 42-38 at the break.

Radford made 11 of 17 attempts beyond the arc in the first half and shot 53.6 percent overall from the field. Mississippi State shot 50 percent in the first half but had eight turnovers.

BIG PICTURE

Radford: The Highlanders had another close call within its difficult non-conference schedule. Radford is now 3-7 this season with losses at Mississippi State, Libery and Bradley, all by less than nine points.

Mississippi State: Junior point guard Nick Weatherspoon had to miss the first 10 games of the season due to an NCAA suspension that began last season. But Wednesday was his final game to miss this season and the Bulldogs finished 8-2 in that 10-game stretch without Weatherspoon. He started 23 of 24 games last season.

UP NEXT

Radford: The Highlanders travel to Washington D.C., to face Richmond in a neutral-site matchup.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs face New Mexico State on Sunday in Jackson, Miss.