STARKVILLE – Reggie Perry equaled his career-best with 26 points and hauled down 13 rebounds to collect his fourth consecutive double-double as the Mississippi State men’s basketball team rattled off its third straight SEC victory with a 77-70 hard-fought victory over Arkansas on Wednesday at Humphrey Coliseum.

Once again, the Bulldogs (12-6, 3-3 SEC) rode a balanced offensive attack and have had four players secure double figures in back-to-back outings. Mississippi State has won 15 of its last 17 games over the Razorbacks (14-4, 3-3 SEC) inside the Hump dating back to the 2000-01 season. The Bulldogs also have won five consecutive games in the series matching the program’s longest winning streak over Arkansas.

Perry ripped off his SEC-leading 11th double-double of the season and brought his career total to 20 which is tops among SEC players. The last Mississippi State player to amass 20 double-doubles during their freshman and sophomore seasons was Erick Dampier in 1993-94 and 1994-95.

Perry also distributed three assists and added two blocks. The reigning SEC Player of the Week made his first eight attempts and posted a 14-for-15 clip from the charity stripe. The 14 free throws made marked a career-best for the sophomore.

D.J. Stewart Jr. pumped home 11 of his SEC career-high 14 points during the second half highlighted by a slam dunk and a steal which resulted in another jam during the final three minutes. He also drained four free throws inside the last 62 seconds, and Mississippi State improved to 8-0 when Stewart Jr. scores in double figures. 

Nick Weatherspoon and Tyson Carter chipped in double figures for the Bulldogs. Weatherspoon filled the box score with 11 points, six rebounds and six assists versus zero turnovers, while Carter came away with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists. The two three’s for Carter enabled him to move into sole possession of sixth place on the program’s all-time list.

Iverson Molinar turned in eight points on an efficient 3-of-5 shooting. His performance was headed by a pair of treys which included one at the 11:00 mark in the second half to extend State’s lead to seven points.

Robert Woodard II and Abdul Ado rounded out the scoring for MSU. Woodard II worked his way around early foul trouble to garner six points and seven rebounds whereas Ado grabbed five boards and two points.

For the contest, MSU hit 22-of-57 shots from the field (38.6 percent), 6-of-19 shots from three-point range (31.6 percent) and 27-of-31 shots from the foul line (87.1 percent).

Mississippi State had 12 assists and nine turnovers, while the Razorbacks had 12 assists and seven turnovers. The nine turnovers for State were its second-lowest total on the season versus an Arkansas squad who entered the game forcing its opponents into 17.5 miscues per game.

The Bulldogs compiled a 41-31 rebounding advantage and have won the battle of the boards by double digits in four consecutive games. Arkansas registered a 46-24 advantage in paint points, the 46 points are the most by a MSU opponent this season. 

The Razorbacks shot 30-of-63 overall (47.6 percent), 4-of-20 on three-pointers (20.0 percent) and 6-of-11 at the charity stripe (54.5 percent). Mason Jones and Jimmy Whitt Jr. paced the Arkansas attack with 20 points apiece. Jones also tallied seven rebounds and four assists. 

FROM THE BENCH WITH COACH HOWLAND

“That was a great win over a really good team. They’re so difficult to matchup with, the way that those guards all play so unselfishly well together for them. I thought it was our best win of the year, obviously, against the highest ranking NET team that we’ve went against. That’s really positive. I thought that the key to the game was taking care of the basketball for us tonight. Looking at stats, we had nine turnovers against a team that forces 17.5 on the season and is fifth or sixth in the country in doing that.”

“He’s [Reggie Perry] playing great. He’s really playing phenomenal basketball at both ends. He had two big blocks tonight, three assists and another double-double. His teammates are doing a great job getting him the ball. Our percentage of times we score or get fouled when he gets the ball is really high. I mean not just with him, he does a great job of passing too. We have to keep getting the ball down there, there’s just no question about it.”

“D.J. [Stewart Jr.] is just such a wonderful young man … He is just a great teammate, very unselfish. I was so happy for him when he made that dunk. I thought that was such an incredibly athletic play. I was like, ‘Wow.’ I think Reggie [Perry] did a good job slowing down and slowing the pass down. I can’t wait to watch it on the film.”

 

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Nick Weatherspoon canned a triple to open the contest as Mississippi State raced out to a 9-3 edge during the first 4:17 off the clock. Reggie Perry capped the run with consecutive jumpers.

Arkansas used a 13-2 flurry fueled by five points from Jeantal Cylla over the next 5:19 to grab a 16-11 lead midway through the first half.

State canned a pair of treys courtesy of D.J. Stewart Jr. and Tyson Carter to regain a one-point advantage, 17-16, with 8:45 remaining.

The two teams played within three points of each other as the lead changed three times over the next 1:51. A slam by Perry off an offensive rebound ignited a 9-0 spurt to enable the Bulldogs to go ahead by six points, 28-22, with 1:11 to go.

Mississippi State carried a 30-26 ledger in its favor into the locker room. Perry led the way with 12 points and hit on all six of his attempts from the charity stripe.

Arkansas pulled within a single possession on three occasions during the second half, the latest at 51-48 with 8:30 left.

The Bulldogs mounted 12 of the next 16 points ignited by a Carter three-ball to push the Bulldogs advantage to 56-48 at the 7:39 mark.

Stewart Jr. drove to the cup with an ankle-breaking move and finished with a late shot clock layup to make it 62-52 with 4:01 remaining. 

Mississippi State staved off the Arkansas halfcourt trap with a pair of fastbreak dunks from Robert Woodard II and and Stewart Jr. to keep the Razorbacks at arms distance.

Arkansas put together one final charge and pulled within 67-62 at the 1:12 mark. The Bulldogs were a flawless 10-for-10 down the stretch at the foul line to close out the seven-point win.

UP NEXT

Mississippi State begins a stretch of five of its next seven games on the road and meets Oklahoma as part of the Big12/SEC Challenge on Saturday. Tip time is set for 1 p.m. CT from Chesapeake Energy Arena, home of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder. The game will be televised by ESPN2 and carried online courtesy of the Watch ESPN platform.