Mississippi State rides big first half past Missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Quinndary Weatherspoon had 18 points and 14 rebounds as Mississippi State defeated Missouri 76-62 Saturday night.

It's the Bulldogs' first road victory since Feb. 14, 2015 when they defeated Missouri 53-43.

Malik Newman led all scorers with 19 points, including 11 in the first half. He shot 4 of 7 in the first half, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range.

Missouri struggled offensively, particularly in the first half. Following an old fashioned 3-point play by K.J. Walton, Mississippi State turned up the defense and held the Tigers scoreless for 3:11 seconds.

Mississippi State led 37-20 at halftime after closing the first half on a 14-5 run. The Bulldogs made 6 of 13 3-pointers in the half, while Missouri missed all 13 of its 3-point attempts.

After trailing by as many as 22 points, Missouri found life in the second half following a 15-4 run that cut the deficit to 11 and reenergized the crowd. That energy was short lived as the Bulldogs answered with an 11-4 run.

Namon Wright led Missouri (8-13, 1-7 SEC) with 16 points and nine rebounds. Wright had 10 points in the second half and shot 6 of 12 from the field. Jakeenan Gant had 11 points and five rebounds in 14 minutes and Terrence Phillips had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Mississippi State (9-11, 2-6) outrebounded the Tigers 43-34 without their best rebounder Gavin Ware, who is out with a concussion. Ware is the Bulldogs leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 15.7 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game.

Tip-ins

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs lead the SEC in free-throw percentage at 74.5 percent...Freshman Elijah Staley is no longer on the team after joining in December. Staley is a backup quarterback and has chosen to concentrate his efforts on football. ...Craig Sword is the active scoring leader in the SEC with 1,327 career points. He finished with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Missouri: Freshman Kevin Puryear scored his 200th point in a 60-57 loss to Georgia Jan. 20 becoming the sixth-fastest player in school history to eclipse that mark. ... Tramaine Isabell was suspended indefinitely prior to game. Anderson cited Isabell's "practice attitude and conduct" for the suspension. Isabell did not play in Missouri's previous two games, an 88-54 loss at No. 20 Kentucky Jan. 27 and a 66-53 loss at No. 10 Texas A&M Jan. 23.

Up next

Mississippi State hosts Alabama Tuesday.

Missouri hosts Ole Miss Wednesday.