Weatherspoon’s late FT lifts Mississippi State past Georgia
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — A small stuffed bulldog toy tossed onto the court with the game tied and 0.5 seconds remaining was just the break Quinndary Weatherspoon and Mississippi State needed.
Weatherspoon was already at the free-throw line before officials penalized Georgia with a technical foul for the fan's action. Weatherspoon was given another free throw — and all the cushion he would need.
Weatherspoon sank one of three free throws with the game on the line, giving him a career-high 31 points and lifting Mississippi State to a 68-67 win over Georgia on Wednesday night.
Georgia coach Tom Crean was upset the technical foul was called with no warning. He rushed to the scorer's table, grabbed a microphone and asked fans to refrain from throwing objects onto the court. It was too late to save Georgia from the technical foul.
"I've never seen that, not without a warning and certainly without an explanation," Crean said.
With the game tied at 67-all, Weatherspoon was awarded two free throws when fouled by Jordan Harris. He missed his first free throw at about the same time the stuffed bulldog came flying onto the court.
"That was a huge play," said Mississippi State coach Ben Howland. "I can't imagine who did that, but it was not smart. (Weatherspoon) might miss the second one."
Instead, he made the free throw for the technical foul and then intentionally missed his third attempt. Georgia didn't have time to attempt another shot after grabbing the rebound.
"We were really fortunate there at the end to not have to go to OT," Howland said.
The result of the last-second craziness: Mississippi State (19-7, 7-6 Southeastern Conference) boosted its NCAA Tournament hopes while Georgia (10-16, 1-12) suffered its seventh straight loss overall and 11th straight SEC setback.
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. After leading 42-25, Mississippi State played as if the win was assured.
"We ended up just settling down which we just can't do, especially on the road with a good rebounding team like Georgia," said forward Abdul Ado. "We have to do better than that."
Harris led Georgia with 13 points. Rayshaun Hammonds had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
BIG PICTURE
Mississippi State: 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. His previous career high was 29 points against Missouri on Jan. 25, 2017.
Georgia: Despite their long losing streak in SEC play, the host Bulldogs showed grit with their second-half rally. "We fought back," said Nicolas Claxton, who had nine points and nine rebounds. "We gave it our all."
ROAD WINS
Mississippi State won its third straight SEC road game for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
STILL MISSING
Mississippi State sophomore Nick Weatherspoon missed his second straight game following his suspension on Saturday for a violation of team rules. He was fourth on the team with his average of 9.6 points.
7 AND 11
Georgia has lost seven straight since a win over Texas on Jan. 26. The streak of 11 straight SEC losses is the longest for the Bulldogs since the 1974-75 season.
UP NEXT
Mississippi State visits South Carolina in SEC play on Saturday.
Georgia visits Mississippi on Saturday.
