Bulldogs break losing streak with win over Vanderbilt

Snow and ice created hazardous conditions outside the Humphrey Coliseum on Tuesday night. Ironically though, while fans had to watch their footing when arriving to and leaving Mississippi State’s game against Vanderbilt, inside the building, MSU finally figured out how to not let a big lead slip away.

The Bulldogs never trailed in the contest and ultimately defeated the Commodores 80-62. The MSU victory snapped a three-game losing streak for State in which the Bulldogs blew 13-point leads in two of those affairs.

Tuesday, there was no disappointment for MSU. Vanderbilt cut a 12-point halftime deficit down to five, but in the end, the Bulldogs surged and won with ease.

“We did a good job of fighting back and not losing our composure in the second half,” Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland said.

The reasons for Mississippi State’s reversal of fortune this go-around were many. The Bulldogs (14-4, 2-3) shared the basketball effectively. Of State’s 31 field goals, 20 were assisted.

“I thought we did a better job of guys not trying to do everything by themselves,” Howland said.

MSU also finally found its stroke from 3-point range. After shooting 31 percent or worse on treys in each of the last three games, State shot 40 percent (8-of-20) from deep on Tuesday including making 5-of-7 in the second half.

“Everybody has been in the gym getting up reps,” MSU’s Quinndary Weatherspoon said of his team’s sharper shooting. “It paid off.”

Weatherspoon was State’s biggest offensive performer in the game. He scored 19 points. Meanwhile fellow junior, forward Aric Holman, earned his fourth double-double of the season with 18 points and a career-best 14 rebounds.

Other Bulldogs stood out as well. Lamar Peters had 10 points, but perhaps just as important, had five assists without a turnover.

Tyson Carter scored nine points, as did Abdul Ado, who battled foul trouble but still ended up with his nine points and six rebounds.

“I thought we got great minutes from a number of players.” Howland said.

About the only concern MSU had in the game was the health of Nick Weatherspoon. He played limited minutes in the second half with what Howland called a foot issue. Howland said his standout freshman guard will have a precautionary MRI, but it’s not expected to be a serious issue moving forward.

Vanderbilt (6-12, 1-5) had two players score in double figures. Ejike Obinna led the Commodores with 14. Jeff Roberson added 10.

However it wasn’t enough for the squad from Nashville.

“Mississippi State played really, really well,” Vanderbilt head coach Bryce Drew said. “They shot the ball well, they made shots deep in the clock and hurt us and they got a lot of loose balls and offensive rebounds which we couldn’t make up for.”

The win gives the Bulldogs a bit of momentum heading into Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. game at Alabama. For the moment, MSU is finally feeling pretty good about itself for the first time in a couple of weeks.

“We needed this a lot,” Holman said of topping Vanderbilt. “No one wants to keep going on a miniature losing streak. We took this one personal, like we try to do every game.

“We put 40 minutes together.”