ATHENS — 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 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 last 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 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 ballhandling. ... 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 today.
Georgia: Visits Mississippi today.