The Sports Xchange
Nov 26, 2017
Quinndary Weatherspoon hit a 3-point shot with 0.3 seconds remaining as Mississippi State staved off an upset bid by beating Jacksonville State 59-56 on Sunday afternoon at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Miss.
The junior scored 13 points, all them coming in the second half, and led the team with four assists, as the Bulldogs remain unbeaten at 5-0.
Weatherspoon's younger brother, Nick Weatherspoon, added 12 points and Aric Holman contributed 11 points and six rebounds in the victory.
The older Weatherspoon helped lead a second-half surge that erased an eight-point Gamecocks lead, reclaiming the advantage with 6:33 remaining.
Jacksonville State had gone up with a little more than 12 minutes to go in the first half and pushed the margin to 29-25 at the break.
The Bulldogs closed the gap by outrebounding Jacksonville State (2-3) with 20 second-half rebounds (37 total). Abdul Ado snared eight of those boards for Ben Howland's squad.
Norbertas Giga paced Jacksonville State with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jason Burnell added 10 points and six rebounds for the Gamecocks.
The Bulldogs overcame 22 percent shooting from 3-point range. They shot 45 percent from the field to Jacksonville State's 39 percent from the floor.
Mississippi State continues its eight-game homestand to begin the season on Thursday when the Bulldogs play host to North Dakota State. The Gamecocks return to Jacksonville's Pete Mathews Coliseum on Thursday and a matchup with Alabama State.