Weatherspoon’s late FT lifts Mississippi State past Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Quinndary Weatherspoon sank one of three free throws with 0.5 seconds remaining, giving him a career-high 31 points and lifting Mississippi State to a 68-67 win over Georgia on Wednesday night.

With the game tied at 67-all, Weatherspoon was awarded two free throws when fouled by Jordan Harris. Weatherspoon was given an additional free throw when a fan threw a small stuffed animal onto the court and Georgia was called for a technical foul.

Weatherspoon intentionally missed his third attempt after making the free throw for the technical foul.

Tyree Crump sank a tying 3-pointer for Georgia with 9.1 seconds remaining. The shot capped an impressive comeback after the host Bulldogs trailed by 17 points early in the second half.

Georgia led 24-20 before the visiting Bulldogs closed the first half with a 16-1 run capped by 13 unanswered points. Weatherspoon scored 12 of the 16 points in the stretch over the final 3:19 of the half to give Mississippi State a 36-25 lead.

Mississippi State extended the run to 19-0 by scoring the first six points of the second half, including back-to-back baskets from Weatherspoon.

Mississippi State (19-7, 7-6 Southeastern Conference) won its third straight SEC road game for the first time in 15 years.

Georgia (10-16, 1-12) has lost seven straight since a win over Texas on Jan. 26. It has lost 11 straight SEC games, its longest conference drought since the 1974-75 season.

Harris led Georgia with 13 points. Rayshaun Hammonds had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

After trailing 42-25 early in the second half, Georgia rallied to make the closing minutes interesting.

Georgia closed the gap to five points at 56-51 on a jam by Nicolas Claxton. A hook shot by Derek Ogbeide trimmed the deficit to four points, 59-55. A jumper by Georgia’s Tyree Crump cut the lead to 62-60 with about three minutes remaining.

Claxton made two free throws with 18 seconds remaining to cut Mississippi State’s lead to 65-64.

Mississippi State sophomore Nick Weatherspoon missed his second straight game following his suspension on Saturday for a violation of team rules. The younger Weatherspoon was fourth on the team with his average of 9.6 points.

BIG PICTURE

Mississippi State: Quinndary Weatherspoon dominated the game during his hot stretch late in the first half and early in the second half. He passed Rickey Brown (1977-80) for fourth place on the school’s all-time scoring list. He scored at least 20 points for the fifth time in his last six games and has reached double figures in 24 of 26 games this season. … The State Bulldogs won all eight SEC road games in the 2003-04 season, the last time they won three straight conference games away from Starkville.

Georgia: Despite their long losing streak in SEC play, the host Bulldogs showed grit with their second-half rally. Perhaps most encouraging was a continued trend of improved ball-handling. … For the second straight game, Georgia used a three-guard starting lineup that included senior walk-on Christian Harrison. … The 1974-75 Bulldogs finished 8-17 overall and 3-15 in the SEC with 11 straight conference losses.

UP NEXT

Mississippi State visits South Carolina in SEC play on Saturday.

Georgia visits Mississippi on Saturday.